Maple Story: The Legends
by Angrec Temptation
Summary: The Maple World wasn't always such a cheerful place as Evil rises. However, five selfless heroes fought and sealed the Black Mage away. They brought peace to the world. Sacrifices were made in the process. They were sealed in ice, memories wiped clean, and Freud has disappeared in vain. Centuries later, as the layers of ice melts down... The Maple World is, again, in danger.
1. The Pole Arm, the Warrior

**Chapter 1: "The Pole Arm, the warrior"**

In the depths of the room, they gathered. Their ruler was still asleep, sealed, in fact, but they could feel his aura, his dark, enormous presence, which sends shivers down their spine. Soon, very soon, he would be free and rise again.

"Patience." A voice whispered, as the others acknowledged her presence in silence. The voice silently chuckled, "we should start out slow…" with a tilt of her hat, the commander move towards the closed blinds and took a peek outside.

With a shrug in approval, some of them disappeared from the room.

* * *

Heavy steps moved across the corridors of the Palace of Ereve, as the man deliberately rushed towards the exposed conference room of the Empress's. He could hear knights, maids and servants whispering in confusion and curiosity as he hurried past them, but he could care less. Taking a different path, he approached the conference room to witness the panic on one of their commander's faces on the way.

"Nineheart." The red-haired, hooded lady called him out, her voice sounded rush and horrified as she tried to match her stride with his lean and long legs. "I know, Oz, I know." Nineheart looked slightly stressed while Oz looked slightly pale. The Piyo races were staring at them and talked amongst themselves, wondering why two of the council members were in such a hurry.

Nineheart passed through the delicate bridge and walked straight towards the conference room located in the middle of the forest, with Oz still trying to catch up with him. Commanders of theirs were scattered all around the room. The blonde-haired man was sitting straight and stiff at one of the chairs; the green-haired lady was looking at her nails and then combing her long, neat green hair; and the dark skinned man with fancy outfits was sitting while staring at himself in the mirror.

The silver-haired lad rubbed his temples in annoyance. "Of course they would be so relaxed when we're at war." He thought with a hint of sarcasm in it. "Irena, stop looking at your nails as if they need another one of those manicures that you've been to just yesterday! Oz, stop panicking and walking in circles! Hawkeye, quit being a narcissist and stop checking yourself out in the mirror! Where the heck is Eckhart? And Mihile!-" He turned to the blonde who looked back at him with the same stoic look he always had, despite the stoic expression, Mihile still had that questionable look written all over his face.

Nineheart sighed in relief. "At least someone is serious about this." He thought as he nodded in acknowledgement. "You're fine, keep it up." The blonde clan leader merely nodded and continued to wait for orders.

Hawkeye, the dark-skinned lad, raised an eyebrow after all the orders Nineheart had spoken for the past few minutes. "First of all, good morning, Nineheart." He said, taking one last glance at himself at the mirror. "And I'm not a narcissist, I'm just born with natural good looks and sexy dark skin. Sir."

Irena followed with a chuckle. "And I'm not thinking of another manicure, I'm just thinking I might need a new color for my nails, it's different from manicures, you see."

Oz squeaked and stared at Nineheart in pure terror. "I'm not panicking!" She retorted, but remained shaking in her seat until a man covered in black appeared beside her, causing her to scream in surprise. "I'm here." Eckhart said with no hint of emotions whatsoever.

Nineheart sighed in relief. "Now that all clan leaders and commanders are present in this conference room. I shall announce the news and we shall form plans to protect the citizens of the Maple World." He started, then glared at Hawkeye who is secretly looking at his reflection from the tea he was offered. A twitch of Nineheart's eyes was far more than enough for Irena to elbow Hawkeye in the gut and forced him to focus on what the silver-haired lad has to say.

He cleared his throat and continued. "As you all know, the Black Wings Organization is on the loose, and we must formulate a plan to stop them from conquering other cities, especially when Edelstein has already fallen into their hands-" He stopped speaking and glared at Hawkeye. "Hawkeye…" His voice turned surprisingly low, which causes Irena to hurt Hawkeye for the second time.

Angered for being interrupted for the nth time, Nineheart, once again cleared his throat, as he heard Oz's soft mumbling. "We have to protect the Maple World." She chanted softly with a frown pressed above her emerald orbs.

Nineheart nodded in agreement, as he clasp his hands together. "Oz is right. Judging from the current situation, the only thing we can do is to build up more defenses in Ereve, Victoria Island and Ossyria. Currently, we have the Elders of Victoria to protect Victoria Island, but there are none in Ossyria…" He began to mumble with himself, while the commanders could only stare with worry written all over their faces.

"How I wish the Legends were still alive…" The red-haired girl muttered. The others heard it, but did not comment, as that was what they all wished for.

The stories people had passed down over the years was that the five Legends were very wise and great fighters who reigned over Maple World. They fought for the peace of the Maple World and in the end, sacrificed themselves for the Maple World. They are the whole reason Maple World was at its peace.

Nineheart looked around then cleared his throat, attempting to clear the heavy atmosphere. Eckhart removed a partial of his mask, revealing a quarter of his face as he sighed behind his mask, still not speaking.

"Er, Nineheart, if you have something to suggest… You could always say it out loud… We can't hear you." Hawkeye grinned cheekily with his fingers pressed against each other.

"Well…" Nineheart adjusted the one-eyed glass by the bridge of his nose and shifted in his seat. He was so sure of it, the reaction on his fellow comrades faces after he announces his fair share of suggestion. And to prove his thoughts, he did as planned.

"I would like to ask two of you to move over to Ossyria to protect that land personally."

This was all it takes to cause Hawkeye to drop his jaw, for Irena to drop the cup of tea she was holding onto; Oz fell on her back from pushing herself away from the table out of shock; Mihile, for once, shown a look of surprise… and lastly, Eckhart, being Eckhart, composed his shock by putting his signature mask back on.

"You got to be kidding me…" Irena voiced out unconsciously, as Hawkeye followed along with the comment. "Nineheart, I didn't think of you as such a joker until today…"

Nineheart eyed Hawkeye a glare, warning the latter to silence himself as he continued. "We are now gathered here to select two out of five of you to head to Ossyria. Therefore…"

From his back, a soft click could be heard.

* * *

"Wake up… Fellow friend… Please wake up and fulfill your duty…" With a sudden jolt, she woke up. Sweat ran down that woman's dark skin as her long, straight snow-white hair messily spread across the bed. She gasped for air as her fingers dug deep into the covers of her bed. That voice… It sounded so familiar, but she couldn't remember where had she heard that voice before.

To be honest, it scared her. What was her duty? Who is the owner of the voice exactly? She got up and ran her fingers through her hair. She got up, took the towel that was left by the couch and went under the warm shower. The warm water calms her. When she finished, she was calm again. As she turned to face the mirror, that reflection of her chrysocolla orbs that stood out from her dark skinned face with sharp, defined features glowed behind her snow-white hair.

She couldn't remember exactly when or where, but someone once told her that these intense blue orbs could capture just about anyone's attention, but she could care less. These eyes, they scare her at times. Someone knocked on the door of her hut. It was the girl with platinum-blue hair with similar blue eyes wrapped in thick winter clothing, the girl who found her sleeping in ice, Lilin.

"Aran." She smiled, while the latter's face shown confusion. "First, get dressed." She pointed at Aran who was only wrapped in the thin layer of towel. Aran smirked as she wore a simple peace of clothing that was laid on the floor.

They sat down near the fireplace. "Aran, listen well." Aran raised her eyebrow, as Lilin sounded serious, unlike her usual gentle nature. "Do you remember the story about the Legends?"

Aran nodded. Of course she would remember about that story Lilin had been pressuring on her since the day she opened her eyes, though her knowledge towards the Legends were light compared to the other people. "You are aware about the weapons, right?" Again, she nodded.

Lilin merely smiled, as she went and picked up the long package that she placed by the side when she first entered the hut. "Open it." She told Aran. Aran did as told and her eyes widened at the sight.

It was a long weapon, with fancy weapons crafted on the long, golden handle. Two curve-shaped blades were stuck at the top of the long pole, shining just as bright as it reflects the light from the outside. She eyed Lilin a questioning look.

"That's **the** pole arm." Lilin said, pointing at the weapon that is currently in Aran's hands. Aran stared at the weapon, her fingers reacted accordingly as she ran her fingers on the side of the sharp blade.

She nodded. She knew about **the** pole arm. It is the strongest pole arm ever created in centuries, and was wielded by no other than the snow warrior of the Legends. Therefore, by the looks of this pole arm, she can conclude that it belonged to one of the Legends.

"Why is she showing me this?" Aran thought. She had heard enough nonsense from Lilin before, when she first woke up from her deep slumber, that she is one of the Legends that survived the curse of the Black Mage's. But all she did was shrug it off and conclude it as a joke. But now, judging from the look on Lilin's face, she could see that the blue-haired lady was never joking in the first place.

"Why are you showing me this?" She gained courage and asked, expressionless but on the inside, she was battling himself not to sound afraid.

A mere chuckle was enough to prove her fear.

"I'm showing you this because this belongs to you, Aran."

* * *

_Next Chapter: -_

_Chapter 2: "Flame clashes Light"_


	2. Flame clashes Light

**Chapter 2: "Flame clashes Light"**

Slowly, she placed her feet down. Her arms were sore from standing too long with her hands. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and turned around. Wielding her weapon, she could see it, the practice target – now with a hole in the middle. Satisfied, she brushed her hands against each other.

From afar, she could see a green-haired lady coming towards her. It was Irena, as she expected. She hastily lowered her hood. "Oz." She nodded in acknowledgement as she took another deep breath and turned to focus on a new practice target. Irena giggled and pulled the string of her weapon, amused by the younger girl in front of her. How is it possible for the girl who was panicking a few hours ago change into this composed girl who accurately aimed for the centre of the target? But knowing Oz since young, like a sister, Irena could see right through her within the palm of her hands.

"Let's go." Irena said, and Oz frowned due to the fact that a serious face started playing on Irena's face, instead of her usual mischief self. She stopped in front of the conference room, where they previously were before carrying on their different duties. The other commanders were standing there, all their faces shown seriousness as they turned to the latecomer.

"Oh, Hottie!" Hawkeye was the first to greet her while masking his previous seriousness with his nickname for her. She blushed, while Hawkeye earned a smack in the back of his head by Irena. "Quit it! You annoying narcissistic flirt!" She glared at him with her arms crossed over her chest.

Oz turned to the corner of the room. There was Eckhart in his usual black commander outfit. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. Never did she ever have the chance to greet Eckhart, as he was quiet and always distant himself from the others. She turned to the left. There was Mihile, in his holy knight suit that defines his position as the Knight of Light. As shown, he was one of the most stoic person she had ever met, though she had never talked to him before, it was clear that he is someone serious and also someone you don't want any business with unless necessary.

A tall man approached the table, and she immediately bowed her head in respect. It was advisor Nineheart, as expected. Oz's emerald eyes caught the scroll hidden behind Nineheart's back, initiating an important announcement, causing her to bite her lips nervously. It couldn't have been that Nineheart had made up his mind on sending whom to Ossyria, or has he? She wasn't sure, but she wouldn't want to be the one ask for the results.

Nineheart cleared his throat, before rolling out the scroll in his hand and began to announce the words written in the scroll. "In the name of Empress Cygnus, the following knights are assigned to protect all continents in Ossysia. From the tournament that was done hours ago, with the rules of the knights who failed the match are to be assign to Ossyria are applied, the knights that are chosen are…" He took a glimpse at the commanders who gulped in response.

"Knight of Flames, Oz." Oz's eyes widened in response. As she was about to protest, Nineheart continued with the next knight. "And Knight of Light, Mihile."

Hawkeye chocked on his tea as he whipped his head to Nineheart in question. "How is it possible that Mihile lost? And what tournament? We did nothing hours ago! Nor did we-"

"The cups…" Irena glared at Nineheart who had a fair grin on his face. "He told the Piyos to place two cups which are of a different design compared to the others. It's no battle of power; it's the battle of luck. And those two…" She took a glimpse at the Knight of Light and Flames.

"They are out of luck."

Hawkeye chuckled. "Oh, the irony." He grinned at the stoic knight and the panicking knight.

Nineheart rolled the scroll and kept it, then look at the two chosen knights. "Anyways, other than announcing the chosen ones to Ossyria, there's another thing I wanted to announce." He nudged his head towards the door.

On cue, the door creaked open, revealing the dark-skinned lady with platinum long hair. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, along with simple knots by the side. And she was holding that familiar looking weapon.

"This is Aran. Aran, these are the Chief Knight of Cygnus and Ereve's commanders. They are also clan leaders. Mihile, Oz, Irena, Icarut and Hawkeye." Nineheart nodded his head at the knights and they nodded back. "Mihile, Oz. What I'm about to tell you now is very important, and I would expect your full cooperation in this." The two nodded their heads, though one remained stoic.

"Aran is one of the Legends." Nineheart started, which is already enough to cause a ruckus. "To be precise, she is the fighter of the Legends, Snow Warrior – Aran." Hawkeye dropped his cup as he pointed his index finger at her. "Her? She is the snow warrior? But she's a girl!" Unknowingly, he had insulted her in a way, which is much to her dismay.

"What? Can't a girl be a warrior?" She glared at him, though she couldn't remember a thing, but one thing's for sure, she could never stand being underestimated just because she is a girl.

Irena looked at Aran in pure fascination. She had never dreamt of the day she would witness the amazing Legend, as she had thought she had been born to the wrong era. Stories that they all have heard from the people was that there were five brave heroes who fought against the evil for the sake of peace, but none mentioned their genders at all, so it wasn't a surprise that Hawkeye would react this way towards Aran, who is actually a girl.

"How is it possible for one of the Legends to survive the curse?" Hawkeye asked Nineheart. To be honest, Hawkeye didn't mean to offend Aran or anything. But it was still a shock to hear that the snow warrior of the Legends is actually a girl. She could have gotten the wrong idea that he was mocking the fact that she is a girl, but he couldn't concern himself over that matter at the moment. Nineheart took a deep breath. "There is a part of the Legends that people don't know about."

Irena raised an eyebrow and he continued. "If Maple World should ever be in danger again, the Legends will return. One way or another." Everyone's curiosity and confusion rose higher as they stared at Nineheart.

"One way or another?" Oz asked. Nineheart nodded his head and turned to Aran who casually leaned against the wall. "Whether in Aran's case, or reincarnations. Anything could happen for the Legends to return." He said.

Eckhart, who has been silent the whole time, watched as Aran curiously darted her eyes across the room. Nineheart, who noticed the silent action, adjusted his glass and turned to Mihile and Oz. "As for now, Mihile, Oz, you are to accompany Aran when she's going to find the other four Legends before your trip to Ossyria."

Oz's jaw dropped. "Why me?!" Mihile eyed her a stoic glare. "Are you going to ignore the fact that I am included?" For once, everyone had heard Mihile complain about his duty. It couldn't be helped that he found babysitting the snow warrior troublesome, as she looked hotheaded and slightly arrogant.

Nineheart could only chuckle. "Because you're both someone whom we trust in protecting the Legend and because it follows the flow of our appointed journey." Aghast, Oz stared at the royal advisor. "This is a joke, right?" She asked seriously.

Hawkeye palmed his face and shook his head. "I thought we're through with Nineheart being a joker thing." He whispered, earning a giggle from Irena's lips.

Nineheart shook his head. "Great!" Oz muttered. First, her partner turns out to be the stoic Mihile that she never wanted to associate with. And next, this. Aran heard her and chuckled contemptuously. Mihile darted her eyes to Aran, remembering to keep his face stoic. "I'm not happy either, the fact that I have to spend my time with someone like you." She said. And Oz was close to throwing her flames at the snow warrior.

"I wouldn't like to spend time with you either." Oz hissed and she raised an eyebrow. "I can do this without them." She told the advisor and crossed her arms; the pole arm was held, leaning in her arms. Before Nineheart could respond, Oz butted in again. "Oh yeah, sure. An arrogant brat like you." She snorted.

"Brat?" Aran raised an eyebrow. "From what I've been told, I'm supposed to be 100 years older than any of you here." She smirked, causing Oz to blush in embarrassment. "I'll do this better than a poor dumb girl and a stone who knows nothing about a person and judges them beforehand." She said sharply, earning a frown from Mihile.

"Stone?" He repeated, his eyes sharply glared at the snow warrior.

"Poor dumb girl?!" Oz was far more furious than ever; her hotheaded temper was already showing along with her element. Flames were constantly emitted at her surroundings. But though she wanted to just punch her in the face, Aran was right. She was judging her before knowing her.

Nineheart rubbed the back of his head. He couldn't argue with the snow warrior, nor can he calm his commanders down from attempting to tear the Legend apart. He laughed, earning everyone's attention as he commented.

"Seems like you understand each other well." He laughed, and everyone in the room gawked at him.

Aran, on the other hand, closed one of her eyes, as a glow formed beside her.

* * *

Oz couldn't believe it. Not in the slightest bit. She had to accompany that arrogant snow warrior of the Legends and on top of that, her partner was no other than the stoic warrior, Mihile. She could have refused that offer, but no! Nineheart has to put the Empress's order over her head.

On her way to Mihile's clan hall, she ran into Irena who was practicing at the previous practice targets that she used. Later, she would go to the kitchen and greet the royal Piyo servants as usual, and was given three lunch boxes for the trip from Ereve to Victoria Island. They would have gotten the flight from Ereve to Ossyria directly, but once again, Nineheart wants them to pay all the elders of Victoria a visit before heading to Ossyria.

She pouted, wondering what is going on in Nineheart's mind. Is he simply a sadist for wanting them to suffer more rather than just allowing them to accomplish their mission and come home?

A friend of hers passed by, and she waved happily at her. "Commander Oz!" Oz blushed slightly and frowned. "Don't call me that!" She unconsciously screamed, causing the friend to laugh and smiled at her. "Sorry. Anyways, where are you going?" She asked brightly and Oz smiled. "Oh… I have to… run some errands with the Chief Knight of Light." She said, making a face. Technically, she didn't lie, or did she?

"Wait! Do you mean Sir Mihile? The good looking, cool holy warrior of the Light clan?" She gasped and Oz rolled her eyes. "Cold, unsociable jerk, you mean. That would be a better description." She thought as her friend giggled and her eyes started to sparkle. "You're so lucky."

"Yeah… really…" Oz mumbled and gave her a hug before she left. She hurried as she saw the sun had already set in the west. When she arrived at the Grand Hall of Light, she moved upstairs and approached the last room of the grand hallway. "Here it is." She mumbled and knocked at his door.

There was no response. She knocked again, louder this time. Suddenly, the door opened and she blushed as Mihile stood there with a towel wrapped around his waist and another towel over his head. He looked down at her with that slight disdaining gaze of his. "You're too early." He stated stoically and leaned against the doorframe.

"I'm not!" She said, her eyes attempting to focus on other objects just so she won't loose her cool, not that she had it with her in the first place. He pointed at the wall clock pinned at his wall, and he was right, she was exactly 15 minutes earlier than promised. He turned around without saying anything, though he left his door opened. She bit her lips and followed him inside his room.

"I didn't say you could enter." She heard him say from the other room. His bedroom, she guessed. Annoyed, she went over and opened the door. And he had just buttoned on his simple white shirt and was now raising his eyebrow on her.

"You left the door open! If I should have waited outside, you could have said so!" She hissed though he remained calm. "I thought you would have enough common sense to know that it's rude to come into someone else's room without any sort of invitation."

Her jaw dropped. "Jerk!" She thought, Tempted to slap him, she raised her hand but held it back as he walked past her and got a snack out of the cupboards in the small kitchen.

A knock was heard from the main door, but he didn't approach to open the door. The door swung open, revealing the snow warrior as she walked up to them with pressuring footsteps, though she doesn't really know that she's doing so. "Can we go now?" Aran asked and turned to the flame wizard who still hand her right hand up.

She raised an eyebrow, then turned to the knight of light in question. "What is that idiot doing?" She asked, and the light warrior shrugged in response.

Oz came to her senses the moment Mihile and Aran approach the door with nothing other than their long, outstanding weapons. She approached them. "Hey. You can't just go with that outfit..." She frowned. She was talking about their outfits. Mihile was wearing nothing but a simple white buttoned up shirt and a pair of black slick; Aran was wearing a simple designed t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Mihile gave her a disbelief look over his shoulder.

"I don't want to catch any attention when we travel. Unlike a certain **someone**." Mihile said, and Aran followed. "Seems like a certain commander couldn't even grasp the hold of simple logic." Oz's hands clenched into fists and she gritted her teeth.

"This is going to be a really pleasurable journey with them…" She sarcastically thought. "If all the Legends were as arrogant as she is…" she wouldn't even want to think about something like that at all.

* * *

_Next Chapter:-_

_Chapter 3: "The Mark that Glows"_


	3. The Mark that Glows

**Chapter 3: "The Mark that glows"**

The Empress of Ereve – Empress Cygnus. The snow warrior had heard stories coming from Lilin, but never had she thought that an empress as great as what she had been told could be anything but the little child standing before her. The little girl had a foolish, yet elegant smile played on her face, as Nineheart introduced Aran to her. She raised an eyebrow. "This child couldn't be **the** empress." She thought. Deep within herself, she could see the look of the supposedly empress she had in mind – a beautiful woman with long, straight blonde hair.

Cygnus clasped her hands together. "It's an honor to be able to meet one of the Legends of the past, miss Aran. I am Empress Cygnus, please to meet you." She bowed slightly, as Aran did the same, though she did not bother to greet back.

Mihile's eyes furrowed sharply at the rude act Aran was giving towards the Empress and was about to retort, but Cygnus merely brushed it off with a smile on her face. "Well, I shall explain about your journey to Ossyria, as well as the search for the other four Legends." Nineheart cleared his throat and rolled out the scroll in his hands.

"From the information we had gotten from the Elders in Victoria Island, as well as our information provider, Tru, and also the historian Piyos that are working on recovering the missing timeline in the past… At least, we are able to have some basic information on the Legend's hometown. From this perspective, I say we should first head to Victoria Island for a more detailed information from the Elders of Victoria Island, then head to Ossyria as planned beforehand." Nineheart rolled up the scroll and sighed. "Any questions?"

Oz raised her hand. "How is knowing the Legend's hometown doing any good to us?" She asked, curious.

"There is a high possibility of the Legends to be reborn in their hometown. Therefore, a search around that area is a must." Nineheart explained.

Mihile nodded. "About the hometowns?" He raised an eyebrow, while Nineheart pushed his one-eyed glass back in response. "Silly me, I hadn't gave you the information on that. Firstly-"

"Elluel, Henesys, Serenity, and Ariant." A deep voice chanted across the room, as an orange glow appeared right beside Aran who was raising an eyebrow as she turned to her right. With a short groan, she lifted her pole arm and dropped the blade on the ground, surprising Oz as they heard a screech coming from the pole arm itself.

"That is so not cool!" The glow became more defined, detailed as a form of a man stood there with his arms crossed at Aran. "Oops, my bad." Aran said without a hint of emotion, and a vein popped on the spirit's forehead. "Aran! You did that on purpose!"

Ignoring the spirit's yaps, Aran turned to the royal advisor, who was in daze, while the empress was staring at the spirit at awe. "Is that the spirit of the pole arm, Maha?" She asked curiously. Maha turned to Cygnus, and his eyebrows rose as he leaned closer to the empress. "Hm… So you're the empress. Didn't expect someone this small…" He mumbled, as Aran whacked the blade on the solid wall, creating a small crack on the wall.

Maha turned to glare at Aran. "Woman! Would you stop damaging me?!" He shouted at her, but all she did was roll her eyes and folded her arms. "Nineheart." She called, and the royal advisor snapped back to reality.

He cleared his throat and began. "As… As sir Maha has said, there are four places you had to look at, Elluel, Henesys, Serenity and Ariant."

Mihile frowned. "Sir, Elluel was said to be destroyed after the battle with the black mage, as well as Serenity. The Elf race has extinct due to the fact that they've lost their home. There is no sign of Elves in the Maple World anymore, other than Athena Pierce, one of the Elders of Victoria Island." He said, questioning the advisor who simply adjusted his one-eyed glass.

"I believe they aren't destroyed just yet, sir Knight of Light…" Nineheart cleared his throat. "Anyhow, you'll find your way there. You should leave soon. At night, where not many people are around here, so that they won't ask any unnecessary questions." He said and turned around.

"Now would you excuse me and Empress Cygnus, we have other matters to discuss about. I expect you to have left when we return to this place." He said as he leads Cygnus from the room.

Oz sighed. "How are we supposed to find the next Legend when we don't even have a head start?" She asked, mostly to herself, as she adjusted her hood. Unlike before, she isn't wearing her red, outstanding outfit that indicates her status, but an odd looking hooded long dress.

Mihile sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Troublesome." He thought as he took a turn towards the door. "We have to leave now." He announced, mostly to the oblivious snow warrior whom he had a slight grudge upon. The spirit beside her was quite a bother as well, judging from how his mischief personality is showing just as bright as his body itself.

Mihile led the two ladies towards the Sky Ferry, whereby two Piyos are chatting happily among themselves as they wait for customers. Mihile approached Kiriru, the pilot of the Sky Ferry to Victoria Island. "Kiriru." He called, and the Piyo nodded in acknowledgement. Unknown to people of the other continents, the Piyo races are far more knowledgeable. They are intelligent creatures, and loyal to Shinsoo, the Divine Creature in Maple World who is also the protector of the Empress's. Unlike humans, the Piyo races' bodies are covered in feathers, and they age much slower than humans, as they are descendants of the Divine Bird.

Kiriru beamed happily upon Mihile's arrival. "Hey Mihile! I have been waiting for you. What took you so long? My friend."

"Some unwanted baggage." He snapped his eyes towards the red-haired lady who glared back at him. "I am not an unwanted baggage!" She pouted, as Aran smirked slightly and jumped into the Sky Ferry.

Oz hurriedly followed on, but instead of jumping in, she tumbled into the Sky Ferry, as Mihile stared in amusement. That girl couldn't even run to save her life! Her physical abilities are of the worst he has ever seen in the Maple World. He shook his head and jumped into the Sky Ferry.

"Sky Ferry! Next destination – Victoria Island." Kiriru announced as he released the ropes holding the Sky Ferry and sailed the ship forward. "This is a short journey, but feel free to rest until we arrive at Victoria Island. Feel free to ask questions about the interesting attractions in Victoria Island too! I'm all ears."

Oz growled. "Kiriru, we're not having a vacation in Victoria Island, it's work, work!" She frowned when the Piyo laughed. "Have fun while you work, that's a good idea! I'll recommend Henesys if you are on a culinary travel! Their mushroom dishes are one of the finest dishes ever! And if you're craving for seafood, you should head to Florina Beach-"

"Kiriru." Mihile glared at Kiriru. Aran sighed, as Maha appeared with a cheeky grin on his face. "Idiot." He mumbled, and Aran agreed with a nod.

Oz folded her arms and looked at the bag that she brought along with her. "Ah!" She opened her bag and brought out the three lunch boxes that she had gotten from the royal kitchen before. She looked at it, hoping that it wouldn't have spoilt. Smiling, she turned to the snow warrior and the warrior of light and placed the two lunch boxes in their hands. "First, let's fill our stomach." She said and opened her lunch box and started digging in.

Maha looked at the lunch box in Aran's hand, then turned to look at Aran's face. "What is this box thing?" He asked in Aran's place. Of course the ancient spirit wouldn't know what a lunch box is, nor would the snow warrior of 100 years ago. Oz gave them a stern look before pointing at her own opened lunch box. "Food." She said.

Following after Oz's steps, Aran slowly opened the box and raised an eyebrow. "Interesting." Maha said as he rubbed his chin in amusement.

Mihile merely sighed and finished his portion.

A heavy rumble by the deck could be heard as Kiriru announced.

"Fellow mates, we have arrived at Victoria Island!"

* * *

"Evan, would you be a good sport and help me feed the bulldog?" the brunette woman states as she dusts the shelves and continued to clean the house. The brunette boy nodded his head with a foolish grin played on his face as he took one last bite of the bread and dusted the crumb off his shirt.

"Yes mom." He smiled and walked out of the house. "Hey Utah." Greeting his brother who is standing by the door with that usual sly look played on his face. "If it wasn't the boy who cried wolf." Utah laughed along with his friends, as Evan faked a smile and approached the bulldog. He placed food in its bowl, then went back to the house, telling his mother about it.

It was his usual routine, waking up, having breakfast, help his mom with chores. Then feeding bulldog, greeting his brother who could care less about him and might sometimes get insulted by him, delivering lunch to his father and help him with farm work. It was supposed to be this way for the rest of the day, but things went extremely wrong the moment he missed his step and fell from the slope.

"Ah!" He squeaked in surprise as he glide down the slope and fell on the ground. He rubbed his back and look around him, noticing the unfamiliar surrounding. The area was covered in thick fog, and the trees were purple in colored, rather than the usual green color that he sees from the pig farm his family owns.

He gulped before standing up straight, dusting the dry brown soil off his ripped black shorts and moved forward in search of a way up the slope. "Where am I?" He wondered around the mist blindly. Like a maze, he felt himself drawn into the deeper area of within the huge purple trees. He raised an eyebrow, as he encountered a huge rock right before he reaches the middle of the forest. A huge rock with a strange symbol crafted on it.

He raised an eyebrow and looked at his hand, it was the same symbol as the one crafted onto the rock. "It looks the same…" He mumbled softly.

Despite his uneasiness, he took a step forward and entered the centre ground of the hidden forest. A ray of light shone down from none shaded area, as he distinctly moved his left hand up to cover his eyes. "Too bright." He thought, as he moved closer to the centre. Is it an oval-shaped rock? No, it is but a huge egg resting in the middle of the huge mystic forest.

He blinked his sapphire eyes twice, as he took a better look at the egg. It had the same symbol printed on the shell, a bright yellow symbol that looks like an image of a dragon. He raised an eyebrow. "This isn't supposed to be…" He wasn't able to complete his thoughts as he heard a soft crack coming from the egg.

His eyes widened in surprise, and he took quick steps back. "It moved!" He gulped. "It bloody moved!" His face turned pale, as he wondered what would possibly come out of the egg.

A head popped out of the egg, and that was when he knew things are about to turn completely wrong. With a final push, that small, petite blue creature fell out of the egg and landed on the soft grass, its eyes were squeezed shut, and it's wings were covered in slight thin layers of slimes. A soft squeak came, as it struggled to flap its wings, getting rid of the slimes that are on the way.

His face was as pale as ever; it turned into a sheet of white as he stared at the creature. "What is this **thing**?" He was still stunned, stoned to the ground as he watch it shaking its body furiously and finally managed to flap its wings and stay on air.

He wasn't ready, he definitely wasn't ready for the blue lizard looking creature to open its huge black orbs to look into his blue ones.

"Are you my master?"

Yup. **He definitely wasn't ready for that.**

* * *

_Next Chapter:-_

_Chapter 4: "The Next One"_


	4. The Next One

**Chapter 4: "The next one"**

At the Six Path Crossway, the red-haired knight turned to the blonde as he ran his fingers through his hair. The snow warrior was could care less about the looks the other travelers were giving, as she leaned the pole arm against her right shoulder. Who wouldn't stop their steps and stare, when a fellow mapler was holding an elegant, long, sharp weapon as beautiful as the one Aran wields? No one.

"Where should we head to first?" She asked the Knight of Light who was unconsciously catching female mapler's attentions. Oz furrowed her eyes on the two warriors. "Who was the one who said that they didn't want to catch any attention again?" She thought as she looked at the map that was given by Nineheart.

Mihile was far more annoyed than usual. First, it is the ladies that wouldn't stop staring at him as if he was some fresh bait. Next would be the pole arm wielder who could care less about how the people were getting suspicious of them. And lastly, it would be the fact that the fire caster wouldn't stop calling his name until he actually answers her. Irritated by Oz's voice, he turned around. "What?" He snarled at her and she shot him an angry gaze. He sighed.

He wondered. Why did she have to come with him? She irritated him since the day she was selected as one of the commanders despite her lack in abilities and clumsiness and got on his nerves to no end, and they weren't even together for even a day just yet! Great. Just great. To be honest, he wanted to simply throw her back onto the Sky Ferry and search for the Legends plus protecting Ossyria on his own, or at least get someone who is actually useful to do the job with him, like Eckhart, but Nineheart would definitely kill him if he found out about it.

This leaves him no choice but to stick to the fire caster. Mihile pinched his nose bridge as Oz sighed. "Let's first head to Henesys and go to an inn. We should have a place to sleep and rest just in case." She said and Aran agreed with a nod. Sighing, Mihile silently followed the two.

The sun had already set and the lamps had just started to light up the streets as they arrive in Henesys. Even so, there were still many people here and there on the streets. Oz turned to glare at the snow warrior who had a hand full of unwanted items they got from the mushrooms that had been wondering around the forest – Mushroom caps, mushrooms, and more mushrooms. If she hadn't been a little too persistent in wanting to test her old skills and hunt a little **too many** mushrooms, they would have reached earlier.

Oz looked around the busy nightlife of the town of Henesys. Restaurants, merchant shops, the armor shops, and stalls are still open despite the dark. She approached the stall owner who is busy packing arranging his items on his stall. "Excuse me, do you know a place we can stay for the night?" She asked.

"Call me Nave. I see you must be one of those novice travelers. Well, if you're looking for a place to stay, you could go to Rina. Her inn is fairly close to the Entrance of the Market. Once you head out, go to your left." She nodded her head and thanked the merchant, before returning to her group. "There's an inn on the right of the market entrance." She told them, though Mihile sighed in return, earning a groan from the fire caster.

"You know, I have a friend who lives here. We don't need an inn, for exact." He said. Oz glared at him. "And you didn't say it earlier because?" She folded her arms and her eyebrows rose.

"You didn't ask." Oz was close to fuming, but she knew better than to simply let her anger get in her way. "I'm sure I did." She could almost feel the corner of her eyes twitch in anger when he shot back. "No you didn't. You selfishly proclaimed that we head to an inn." Though she wanted to fight back, she knew she couldn't possibly win against the stoic knight.

She sighed. She wanted to try and be friendly to Mihile, since they were going to spend a lot of time during this travel, but he simply rejects the idea by showing his displease oh-so-directly at her. "You're impossible." She commented and turned to Aran, who was still out of the situation at the moment.

"Aran, an inn or sir Mihile's friend's house? You'll choose, since you're the oldest." Aran wasn't offended, she definitely wasn't offended by what Oz said. At least, not until Maha decided to appear at the very right moment and repeated the words Oz just said. "Oh~ She just said that you're old."

A snap could be heard, as Aran bluntly threw the blade of the weapon down and dragged the weapon harshly and carelessly as she walks to the inn, along with Maha's scream at the background chanting "Oh my god!" and "Is she damaging me? Is she seriously damaging me?!". "The inn." She said and lifted up her bag full of mushrooms. "I can ask them to make me that mushroom dish that bird recommended."

Oz grinned and turned to Mihile. "If you want to stay with your friend, feel free. 'Cause I could care less about you." She stuck her tongue out and tailed after Aran. Mihile sighed, before tailing after them with his huge sword safely locked to his back.

* * *

"Where are we going to start?" Oz asked as Rina served her special chopped noodles with mushrooms and pork to the group, at the same time, placed an unknown dish in the middle and walked away. Aran stared at the plate of food in front of her, never in her life had she ever seen something like that, as for all she could remember since the day she woke up, all she ate was meat, meat and meat.

"I wonder how this taste like…" She thought as she picked up the fork and reached for the dish, but another reached and pinned hers down to the table. "Listen to what people has to say." Oz glared at the snow warrior and she nodded her head.

Mihile sighed. "Here. In Henesys." He stated. Aran turned to look at Oz who was sitting beside her. "Can I eat now?" She asked, though she sounded more demanding as she forced her fork out of Oz's grasp and picked the dish. Without warning, she ate it and decided to dig in her ramen next. Oz sighed and looked at her ramen. It looked delicious, but she didn't have the appetite.

"How was the taste?" She turned to Rina who asked as she approached them. "It's good, the pork is fresh." Oz smiled at Rina, and she smiled back in return. "Of course. There is a farm right down town. I always buy all my ingredients there. They don't breed mushrooms though, that's why travelers bring their own mushroom ingredients for me to cook for them."

"I see…" Oz replied. Mihile pushed his bowl forward, before standing up and walk up to his room. "Where are you going?" Oz asked, and he looked over his shoulder to her.

"My room. You're not planning to stalk me, are you?" He raised an eyebrow, while she blushed in return. "Cocky bastard." She mumbled as she turned to smile at Rina. "Thanks for the meal." She stood up, and tailed after Aran who is currently speed walking towards their room. They had reserved two rooms in total, one single room and another room with two single beds.

"Now, where do we start?" Oz turned to Aran when they were outside again. Aran shrugged her shoulder. Feeling sullen, she followed the two who were casually wondering around the town. Aran was busy looking at all unknown objects she could find, like the huge Maple TV that was located at the end of the town, and the white taxi parked near the TV; Mihile was keeping himself busy by looking around for any possible Legend, though he didn't know how they looked like.

Oz shook her head and palmed her face in embarrassment. "How am I on the same team with these brainless fools?" She questioned her spirit of Fire – Ignis as she summoned it before her. "Well, you're clumsy, so they made up to it at least." Ignis shrugged and dodged as Oz waved her staff at it.

"You're not helping." She mumbled, and the spirit of Fire turned away. "Be thankful, you would be helplessly clumsier if it weren't for me." It said, and Oz glared at it.

"What are you doing?" Mihile's voice caused her to snap back to reality, as she turned to him who had that same stoic look on his face. "Er, I was…"

"Slacking off." Ignis smirked, and Oz threw it a dirty look. Mihile pinched his nose bridge and pointed at the Aran who is already gone from her original position. "She just left the town."

"Eh?!"

* * *

Aran walked down the North hill of Henesys, as she continued to wonder around with pure curiosity. For god knows how many Orange Mushrooms and Shrooms she had killed as both her and Maha passed by the hill. "Are you seriously using me to kill those… Low life creatures?" Maha was fuming, and Aran knew that well. Maha's pride is higher than anyone she had ever known, well, his pride and ego is definitely over the top compared to the selfless Lilin, that's all she knows. And by killing low-level monsters like Orange Mushrooms and Shrooms, Maha's pride is at the edge of a cliff, ready to crumble down.

She stopped her steps and blinked as they stumble upon an entrance with a huge pig head drawing on top. She raised an eyebrow. "Where are we?" She asked Maha. Maha shrugged. "I've been sleeping along with you for the past 100 years, so…"

"You're practically useless then." She commented as she went in, with Maha yapping behind her back. "Aran! Take that back! I'm definitely useful! At least more useful than you alone! You couldn't even take on a Shroom without me-" She eyed him a glare, and that was far more than enough to keep his mouth shut.

"Do I have to throw you into that pile of mud now?" She asked, and he immediately shook his head. "Then be a good boy and shut up." He nodded, and she let out a rare chuckle. Maha turned his head away from her, but smile secretly as he flew along to catch up with her.

Aran rubbed the back of her head. "Where are we?" She asked, as all they could see were pigs, pigs and pigs. Occasionally, there are cows and chickens, but there are mostly pigs. She turned to Maha in question, and Maha sighed. "I'll check the area." He floated up and flew away.

She sat down by one of the stacked hay and sighed. Great, now she's lost. She can already hear all the cusses Oz must be giving, and she can feel the glares she will be receiving from Mihile from the future, as she had purposely left him with Oz. You heard her, she left them on purpose. It was no accident when she left them and wondered alone, though accidents would always happen at a pinch of time, which is now.

"They're always at each other's throat that they pushed all their frustrations on me. It's annoying." Was what she told Maha when they left Henesys. She rubbed her temples and leaned on the hay, relaxing herself with her pole arm securely locked in her right arm.

Her sharp ears caught a light shuffling sound. In respond, she tightened her hold on her pole arm, raised it and pointed it right at the target's neck. "Who are you?!" She furrowed her eyes, as the figure trembled and had both his forearm raised in defeat.

"E-Eh? Y-you know, you shouldn't be here at night… You should-"

"I asked. Who. Are. You." Her voice turned deep and low, as her instincts caught her off guard and took control over her body. The boy forced the lump down his throat as sweat dropped from the side of his face. He took a step back.

"W-well, how about we put that dangerous weapon down before we speak… ha… ha…" He suggested, which caused Aran to push her blade closer to his neck. "Okay maybe not. But would you at least-"

"Don't point your weapon on my master!" A blue creature with two small horns stuck on its head appeared and coughed flames that are directed to Aran. In reflex, she drew her pole arm back and dodged, causing the flames to hit the hays and caught on fire.

"Mir! Look what you did!" The boy began to panic as he glared at the blue creature. Just in time, Maha flew back to Aran. "Aran! I found the way back- And I guess you just got yourself into another risky situation…" Maha's eyes furrowed at the burning hay then rolled his eyes at the blue creature in front of him.

"I wouldn't have expected anything less coming from a dragon- Wait, a dragon?" He snapped his head towards the creature, which blinked its eyes at him then turned to Aran who called his name. "Maha." She stood up and dusted the soil off her pants. "Kill the flames." She said, more like demanded.

Nodding his head, Maha raised his hand and closed his eyes; just as cold, chilling wind began to blow and extinguished the flames. He then turned to Aran who glared at the boy. "Aran." He flew close to her and whispered softly.

"He is one of the Legends."

* * *

_Next Chapter:-_

_Chapter 5: "Within the Dark"_


	5. Within the Dark

**Chapter 5: "Within the dark"**

Oz crossed her arms and sulked as both her and Mihile walked down the hill of Henesys, in attempt to search for the wondering Legend. It's embarrassing to even call themselves the Chief Knights of Cygnus when they couldn't even babysit a Legend, who apparently lost her memories. Then again, not only did the Legend lose her memories, even her strength was dragged to the lowest level.

"Where on earth did she go to…" She mumbled as they passed by the same farm entrance as described by Rina before they head out to look for the next Legend. _"The farm entrance has a pig head drawing on top. A family of farmers owns the farm. They have two sons, though they don't look even the slightest bit alike. Though what worries me, is the younger son…"_

Oz frowned and tightened her hold on her red staff. She turned to Mihile who was talking to his friend whom he called over to join the search – Roca. "Sir Mihile." She called, as she caught up with the two. "Can I take a look in that farm? Just awhile." She asked, though it doesn't seem like she'll take no for an answer. Mihile sighed and nodded his head, not speaking. Smiling, Oz turned and turned into the farm, leaving the two knights standing by the entrance.

Roca eyed Mihile suspiciously, before turning swiftly with a soft giggle. "Someone's turning soft I see." He commented, earning a whack in a head with the back of Mihile's huge, heavy sword. "Just be quiet and keep searching."

Meanwhile, Oz was rushing towards the inside of the farm. Her gut feeling was telling her to enter the farm. And that's what she did. Could it be that she's worried about the boy? She thought, but all those thoughts vanished instantly the moment she sees Aran standing in front of the frightened boy.

"Eh? Aran!" She pointed her index finger at the snow warrior, who turned around upon hearing her name being called. Aran raised an eyebrow, whereas the spirit of her pole arm whipped his head back with a smirk played on his face. "Oh, if it isn't the clumsy brat." He commented, and a vein popped on Oz's forehead.

She summoned Ignis and ordered it to call for Mihile. Crossing her arms, she turned to Aran with a glare, before turning to the boy who was struggling to hide a certain something behind his back.

"Erm, sorry about what Aran did. I am really, really sorry about it." She apologized and smiled, trying to be friendly with the brunette boy. He faked a smile and tightened his hold on the blue creature behind his back. "It's okay! Really! It's her natural reflex I guess… Haha…"

Oz clapped her hands together. "I'm really sorry though." She smiled, but her face turned pale also immediately upon seeing the blue creature behind the boy's back flew out of his grasp and puffed.

"I can't believe you just did that to me, master." It spoke. Oz couldn't believe her eyes. That blue lizard spoke. She was close to fainting, she was close to falling to the ground if it weren't for the Knight of Light who came at the right time and stood right behind her at the right moment, saving her from an embarrassing fall.

Maha raised an eyebrow from beside Aran. "Leaving them alone was a good thing I guess?" He whispered to Aran who replied with a smirk. The boy blinked his innocent sapphire orbs as he turned to Aran who wasn't surprised even the slightest bit to the fact that she was looking at a dragon even until now, to the Oz who was definitely surprise, and was close to fainting at the moment, then to that unfamiliar blonde-haired man who is raising his eyebrows on the dragon.

"What is that thing?" Mihile thought as his eyes curiously observed the blue dragon. He then turned to the boy whom that creature called "master". Oz caught his curious glances; along with the strange gaze Aran was giving the poor boy that was trying to come up with excuses about his odd pet.

"We're leaving. I'm very sorry… Erm…" She bowed to the boy and eyed Aran a dirty look. The boy flashed an innocent grin and shook it off.

"Evan. My name is Evan. And it was nothing. Really, I mean it." He laughed it off and Oz smiled. The three left the farm and Oz still couldn't get the fact that the two are still looking back at the farm. She turned to Mihile, an odd feeling shot through her as she felt herself shiver at that thought. "Was he… maybe… by any possibility…"

"He's not gay… Is he…?" She looked at him with wide eyes, and then turned to Aran who tightened her grip on the pole arm, her chrysocolla orbs were far more intense than usual. "And her…" She forced the lump down her throat. "Oh god. Don't tell me she's actually into younger boys!"

"That guy…" Mihile started and her eyes widened even more. "Don't tell me he's going to say that he's his ideal type!" Her thoughts wondered.

"He is one of the Legends. That is what Maha said." Aran said, and Oz was close to slapping herself due to her ridiculous thoughts. "Why… He's just a boy…" She said, trying not to laugh at her own thoughts.

"Just 'cause." Maha appeared and crossed his arms. "The dragon." He said shortly and frowned, before fading back to the pole arm.

"So my instincts were right, that boy is the next one?" Mihile asked. Aran nodded and then shrugged her shoulder. "Seems so, though it seems like he couldn't even run to save his life." She commented and rested her pole arm on her shoulder. "We'll just wait for the right moment and then fetch him." Aran said casually and walked off.

Oz didn't know if this was a good idea, considering the fact that he might not believe a word about him being a part of the Legends of the past. Gosh, what if he had lost his memories like the situation Aran is in? Or he could possibly be a reincarnation as one of the possibilities Nineheart had mentioned? There were so many questions crowding her mind. "But we don't even know if he is really one of the Legends who are under the Black Mage's curse just yet until we find out about…"

"I'm pretty sure of it though, unless you're suspecting my abilities in identifying my master's companions." Maha once again, appeared beside Aran with a sharp glare played on his face. "Plus, within the four Legends that we're searching for, there is one which will be of a special case…"

Aran raised an eyebrow. "I hadn't heard of that from you." She said, curious of what Maha has to say. Maha was silent for a moment, before he nudged towards the direction of the town entrance. "We have arrived." He said softly before fading back, not bothering to speak any further. Aran sighed and walked without any further complaints.

Oz frowned, she really thought it wasn't a good idea to simply "fetch" the boy when there is still a high possibility that he might not be a Legend, and also that even if he is, he couldn't believe what they said. "Do you think it's a good idea?" She turned to Mihile and asked, as they both slowed down their pace to the inn.

He gave her a look and snorted. "Do you have a better one?"

* * *

The next day, Evan stretched his muscles and left the farm. It had been a long day, and he was tired and hungry. "Go to the town and buy me some groceries, while you're at it, buy something for yourself to eat. Alright, Evan?" Was what his mother told him as he was done with his part of the chores.

Mir, his dragon tagged along with him, making sure to hide himself away from human's eyes to avoid unwanted attention. Funny, he hadn't had any problems with this little dragon at the moment, not as much as he imagine anyway. Even though having a dragon as a pet would be considered as weird and a dangerous hobby, but this dragon under his care doesn't seem like he'll do any harm to the humans, so he decided not to report it to the people and decided to take care of it himself.

Even though he said that he hadn't had any problems with the dragon, there was one thing that always concerns him. Mir would constantly call him "the dragon master" and constantly chants about "spirit pact". For a farm boy like Evan, he couldn't understand the slightest thing at all.

He sighed and entered the general store. "Hey Luna." He smiled as he greeted the merchant. "Hey, Evan!" The elderly woman called as she stopped arranging her items. "What can I do for you today?"

Evan laughed before handing her the list her mother made. "I see, 4 apples, 5 oranges, and 2 lemons. That will be a total of 127 mesos. I gave you a discount." She winked at Evan, in which he laughed in return and paid for the groceries. He looked into the bag; just to be sure that he didn't miss anything. He blinked his eyes and looked up at Luna who shrugged it off when he picked up the meat in the bag. "It's free of charge. For your little lizard pet on your shoulder, pretty boy. Now get going, you're blocking my business." She smiled and resumed in arranging the potions. He chuckled and opened the door to leave the general store. Mir was still there, hiding low by his shoulder.

It wasn't a cold evening, but chills were running down his spine as he walked down the streets of Henesys. The main area – Henesys market, of course, was bright with many people walking around. "Master, there's a lot of food here." Mir chirped happily as they passed by the inn that Rina owns. He stopped his steps. Maybe paying Rina a visit wouldn't hurt. He thought as he entered the inn.

"Welcome to the… Oh my, Evan." Rina greeted with a smile, and Evan smiled back. She took a short glance at the dragon on his shoulder and chuckled. "That's a cute pet you got, Evan." Even though it was an innocent compliment, cold sweat started to form behind Evan's back, as though he thought Rina would see right through him.

He let out a stuttering laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, yes. Ha…" He bit his lips and looked away. Damn, this wasn't going on the way he wanted it to be. "I better get going." He spoke softly before rushing out of the inn and walked down the streets.

Reaching the hill of Henesys, the road has turned dimmer, and it was quite dark that shudders ran down his spine. He turned his head, feeling as if someone was watching him from afar. He frowned and fastens his pace back to the farm. Though it gave him a form of comfort, he still hadn't reach home. He could still feel that someone was following him. Though he couldn't see the face when he turned around, the stranger still frightened him.

He walked slightly faster than before. "Almost there." He thought as his hand reached for the wooden weapon that was held by his side pocket. He hated to say this, he would hate to use Mir for this, but he would fight if it were necessary. If the stranger were to cause any harm to him, Mir, or his family, he would rather abandon this peaceful life he has and fight.

"Evan?" He heard a voice called him and his eyes widened, startled, as Oz stooed in front of him. "Oh, you're that girl from yesterday… With that white-haired… right?" He called out, relieved that there was a familiar face. Behind Oz, there was that familiar snow warrior and the knight of light; the blonde had a distanced expression on his face.

"Yes. My name is Oz. Nice to meet you." Oz said in a friendly way and smiled. She noticed his widened eyes and his panicked look, but didn't bother to change her friendly expression. "Nice to meet you, too…" He voiced softly and she giggled.

"I was wondering if I could buy some pork from your family, but then again, it's already late, so…" She tapped her chin and sighed. Evan chuckled. "It's okay, I think. Let me ask my father." He said and smiled.

Oz smiled. "That will be a great help!" She smiled and clapped her hands together. His smile softened and he nodded. "Alright, I will show you the way to my house then." As they entered the farm, Evan looked over his shoulder.

The shadow that was lurking from behind had disappeared.

* * *

"What is this for?" Oz asked and pointed at the bag in Evan's hand. Evan gave a shy laugh and rubbed his neck. "Ah, well, grocery." Her eyes widened as those emerald orbs sparkled with interest. "I see. What do you usually do here?" She asked, as curiously got the best of her.

He smiled. "Well, the usual. I always help out my dad in the farm like feeding the animals and such. My dad does the butchery himself." She frowned. "Most farms don't do the butchery themselves." She said. He nodded and shrugged his shoulders.

"We don't have much money to hire a butcher." He explained, and Oz felt sorry for him. While the two were talking, the two warriors growled from the back. Aran was wearing a bored look on her face, while Mihile looked slightly annoyed, though for some unknown reason. Maha was just by Aran's side, appeared to be only within Aran's sight. Mihile looked around, as his suspicion grew. Something felt strange here. It was as if someone was observing them. He furrowed his eyes. He had noticed something lurking behind the shadows before they enter the farm. The presence disappeared for a short while, but now it's back again.

When he heard Oz and Evan laughed, he snapped his head to her, annoyed. Oz gave Evan a smile, which the delicate-looking man returned. "So you're from Ereve? What are you doing here?" Evan asked her and she shyly scratched her head. "We're running errands. Nothing big, actually." She shrugged her shoulders and lied effortlessly. Evan nodded his head and then stopped in front of his home. "Well, I'll pack the pork and hand it to you." He said softly and waved as he left. His pet dragon mewed as it flaps its wings once.

Oz waved back and turned around to Mihile and Aran, who were leaning against the wall. When she saw the look on Mihile's face, her smile faded. Was it her imagination or did Mihile furrow his eyes? "Was it…?" She asked, and he nodded his head.

Mihile was actually surprised that Oz actually took notice of that, but all he did was shrug his shoulder. "There is someone…" Aran muttered and turned around. With Maha's sight, she could see something moving within the shadows, before disappearing again.

"Here's the our farm's pork!" Evan came back and gave them the package before escorting them out of the farm. Worried, Oz bit her lips and turned back, a bad habit that shows her nervousness. Aran looked in daze for a moment, then shrugged and walked away first. "Do you like him?" It was a question that took her off guard, causing Oz to give Mihile a strange gaze. "What?" She blurted and blinked a few times. "What is going on with your brain? Has Soul not keeping your mental state in check or something?" She tried to laugh it off.

Mihile was silent for a moment. "We should go after her." He walked past Oz and caught after the snow warrior who didn't have the slightest sense of direction. He wasn't going to wait for Oz to follow him. She would anyways, and he was very sure of that.

* * *

_Next Chapter:-_

_Chapter 6: "Fiend in Cloak" _


	6. Fiend in Cloak

**Chapter 6: "Fiend in Cloak"**

Evan turned back into his home and opened the door, "Mom? I'm sorry I'm late." He apologized and the brunette woman smiled at him. "I was starting to think that you're going to abandon your poor mom here." He laughed and shook his head. "I would never." He smiled and kissed her on the cheek. She chuckled and brushed his hair away from his face.

"You look tired. What's wrong?" She asked him and he shook his head. "Nothing. I'll be in my room if you need me, mom." He turned away and approached his room. On his way to his room, he met Utah, his brother who was just about to go downstairs for dinner.

"Oh? If is isn't Evan?" Utah said with a hint of sarcasm. "And what is that? You have a pet lizard now?" He snickered and walked past him, bumping his shoulder roughly against Evan's as to shove him to the wall before he heads to the stairs. Evan sighed and walked to his room. "That couldn't be helped." He thought as he patted poor Mir's head. "That couldn't be helped at all." He smiled.

"Are you hungry?" Evan asked Mir as it flew towards his bed. Nodding its head slowly, he threw the piece of meat to his floor. "Here, you can have this." He smiled when Mir ate it all in one bite and let out a loud burp, exclaiming its satisfaction. He chuckled and patted its head. "Those guys…" He mumbled softly as he recalled Oz and her companions.

"That girl…" His brows furrowed when he recalled the look on Aran's face. Though she looked scary at all times, but almost every time their eyes meet, he never failed to feel a little nostalgic. It was as if they knew each other, even when he was sure they hadn't met before.

"Master? Is there anything wrong?" He snapped out of his thoughts and patted Mir's head again. "Nothing." He smiled. "It's nothing." He ensured the small creature.

Suddenly, the lights in his room went out. Evan slowly turned his head. There. Again, that uneasy feeling that sends shivers down his spine. "Mom?" He called, but there was no answer. "Dad?" Once again, there was no answer. "Utah?" He urgently called again, louder than before.

With no reply came back, he rushed down to the living room and froze. His family laid on the ground, huffing, while the cloaked men stood above them. He was beyond surprised. He panicked, and Mir hissed in anger as one of the cloaked men appeared before him. He could feel his knees giving in as he tightened his grip on his weapon. _"F-Fire circle!"_ he shouted and flames were emitted on all the cloaked men. A strange hissed was heard from the cloaked men.

He pulled his confidents together and teleported away as one of them tried to grab him. _"Fire circle!"_ He chanted once again and Mir coughed flames to the enemy. Evan was tired, far more tired as he could feel his mana being drained by Mir who uses it as the source of power. But he just couldn't lose to these people. He had to save his family.

He waved his wand once more, ignoring the sweat that was pooling down his delicate face. "Fire Cir-"

"Evan! Run away!" His mother yellowed, coughing wildly. Suddenly, the man dashed forward and Evan's eyes widened. _"Fire Arrow!"_ At this moment, he could feel someone behind him. In the matter of seconds, a red figure appeared to burn the man's shoulder and was teleported to his location.

Damn, that hurt like hell. "Evan, are you alright?" Oz asked, helping him up. "Oz? What are you doing here?" He asked, confused. "No time for explanations." Mihile growled as the man attacked again. He ducked down, spun around and charged his sword forward. _"Soul driver!"_ He swung his sword and turned to Oz. She nodded and teleported herself to Evan's family and raised her staff. _"Seal!" _

A large purple box appeared and the men hissed as they have been trapped in it. "I can only hold them for 21 seconds! Run!" She shouted, and Evan's family immediately got up and ran. Aran appeared from the door and ran, ignoring the stares she was given by the brunette boy as she raised her pole arm up high and slashed the seal into half, surprising even the fire caster.

"Aran- what are you doing! You're going to-" Aran smirked as the men who attempted to escape from the broken seal began to freeze in ice. Her pole arm was specifically infused with ice, which is all Maha's work, and it worked just well enough for her. _"Snow charge."_ She said calmly, and Maha grinned from behind. "That's my trick alright." He said proudly as snow petals began dancing around the pole arm. Snow particles surround the pole arm, along with Aran as she rested the pole arm on her shoulder.

"One more! Behind!" Oz shouted and aimed her fire arrow at him. "Idiot! Are you trying to burn down the house?" Mihile shouted at her and charged to the man. The man hissed the same strange sound and jumped out from the window. Mihile got to the window and leaned out, searching for the man. His face darkened when he realized that the man had gotten away.

Mihile growled and turned back. "I need to contact Roca and tell him to report this to Nineheart." He thought as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Lights." Oz said to Evan, who had a panicked expression on his face. "Evan, calm down. Get some lights, I will take a look at your family's wounds." Oz said calmly, and he numbly nodded his head. But before he could leave to get some candles, Soul, the Spirit of Light was summoned by Mihile and lighted up the room.

"Suspicious. I can't believe I, the great spirit of Light, am doing such a chore like… Lighting up a dark room." It turned to Mihile who tried to ignore its suspicious stares. "So suspicious. Sir Knight Mihile. Suspicious indeed." It snickered softly, though Mihile had caught it loud and clear, he ignored it.

Oz inspected for any injuries on Evan's family, one by one, while Aran and Mihile were currently of no help at all. This wasn't within their field of work, you could say. She sighed. "They're fine, it's just fatigue. They need some rest." She assured Evan and he sighed in relief. Mihile was sitting on a chair, watching them closely like a hawk.

"You're going to burn her with your stares." Soul commented, earning a snicker from Aran's direction. Maha grinned and leaned back, his hands in his pockets as Aran shook her head and smirked. This was definitely someone worth seeing. If only they had something to capture the look on his face… That would have earned them millions. Mihile eyed the snow warrior and her spirit a stern, stoic glare and resumed to listening to whatever the remaining two were saying.

"Who are you guys?" Evan asked as Oz brought his mother, and with some credits to Aran whom carried his brother and father on her shoulder like some rice shack, to their rooms. They had fainted earlier from the shock of seeing all the flame, swords and snow flying across the room, and possibly won't be able to remember this incident at all.

Oz cleared her throat as she looked at Mihile. "I didn't lie when I said we're from Ereve… but both me and sir Mihile are knights of the palace and she…" She pointed at Aran who immediately grabs her weapon in ease after returning from his family's rooms. "She is Aran the snow warrior."

Evan's eyes widened and he turned to look at Aran. "You are the Snow Warrior, Aran? As in the great heroes of the Maple World…" Aran raised an eyebrow and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess." She said, and Maha appeared with a snicker.

"No one takes "I guess…" as an answer, Aran." Maha rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He turned to Evan and snickered. "And you, you're coming with us, whether you like it or not." He said, more like demanded.

Evan's jaw dropped almost instantly, just as Mir flapped its wings to face Evan with a grin on its face. "Master! This is the chance to be the greatest Dragon Master ever! You have to go with them!" Evan glared at Mir. "And why would I do that? I'm not even insane yet!"

"Technically, you were never in sane for keeping a dragon in **a house**. Boy." Maha rolled his eyes, as Aran smirked in return. Evan turned to him and glared. "Thank you for the exclamation, you sparkling vampire." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice that ticks Maha off. He turned to the brunette boy with a vein popped on his forehead.

"This boy is going down…" He hissed under his breath and the pole arm began to shake even under Aran's hold. Aran's eyes widened then the pole arm was out of her hold and chased after the pole arm as it charged towards Evan who was just as surprised as Aran. Thankfully, she caught the weapon before it could damage the brunette's delicate face and turned to glare at the spirit who sulked at the side.

"Maha." Aran's voice was stern and scary that sent shivers down everyone's spine, including Mihile's, though he'll never admit it. Maha turned to Evan and groaned. Does he really have to do this? He thought as he turned away. "Sorry." He said. "Not." He thought and rolled his eyes inwardly.

Aran sighed and tightened her hold on the pole arm this time. "Explains how it's the strongest pole arm that no warrior could tame." Mihile thought then turned to Aran. "No one but the snow warrior herself."

Aran turned to Evan, who was still in his shock state. Clearly, she wasn't going to play turning-around-the-tables, as her words were as straight as it can be. "You're one of the Legends too." She pointed her index finger at Evan, then back to her. "You're one of us."

"Therefore, you're coming with us."

Evan frowned. "That's not possible." He said and turned away. "I'm just a farm boy." He muttered as Mir landed on his lap and mewed.

"A farm boy that owns a dragon… Right, just right. Spendid." Maha muttered as he rolled his eyes, earning a short and stern glare from Aran who threatened to throw the pole arm across the room. "You wouldn't." He gulped and stared at Aran, who smirked. "Oh, I would."

"How are you sure that I'm one of the legend?" Evan asked. He wasn't sure himself, though he had dreams of entering somewhere unknown before, and dreams were he was beside four people. Aran sighed and rubbed her temples. "You're probably the reincarnation of the Dragon Master." She said. "That's what he said." She pointed at Maha who could only gape at her in shock.

Evan bit his lips as he stared at them then; he suddenly jolted up as if from a daydream. "Okay, okay, get out of here. Now." Surprised by his reaction, Oz looked at him.

"Evan, please…" He brushed her hand off and shook his head. "That sounds ridiculous. Please get out." He was still polite and his voice was still soft, but his eyes were so panic-stricken that he began to worry her.

Mihile stood up and went over to Oz. "We're going." He said and she stared at him, perplexed. "What?" He rolled his eyes and touched her shoulder. "We're leaving, now." He said sternly. Aran sighed and walked away silently without turning back. She opened a scroll and before Oz could protest any further, they disappeared and the last thing Oz saw was the irritated face played on Evan's face.

* * *

"Why?" Oz asked Mihile as they appeared in front of the inn. Apparently, the scroll in Aran's hand was no other than a scroll that allows the people to teleport to the nearest town. Oz slammed her hands against his chest, giving him an angry look. He grabbed them before she could have repeat her actions. "He's irritated, he's worried and he's torn." He said, and she slowly blinked, unable to understand his words fairly well.

"He has his family and he can't leave them alone." Her anger disappeared completely. Of course, she would have understood that, but what surprised her the most, was the fact that Mihile understood this, even before her. "He's torn between the dragon's call for his master, and the fact that he couldn't abandon the family whom he cherishes and wishes to protect."

He let Oz's hands go and she stepped back, hiding them behind her back. Despite her situation, her face reddened a little. "What are we going to do now?" She asked him, worried about what might happen now.

He cocked his head to the side as his expression went back to his stoic and cold mask again. "He will come back again. He's after Evan." He obviously meant that masked man from before. "But why?" She asked, and Mihile ran a hand through his hair.

"Because he's the same as me." A few coughs were heard from the side, and Oz whipped her head to the direction to find Aran with only one of her eyes opened, looking somewhat uncomfortable at the moment. "Thought you might have forgotten about us." Maha rolled his eyes and then covered them. "Gosh, my eyes are sensitive to dramatic, cheesy love scenes." Oz's face turned into one of the brightest shades of red, as she tried to compose herself and turn to Aran while ignoring Maha who is enjoying himself by teasing the two, though Mihile did not bother to give any reaction.

"T-T-The same as you?" She failed miserably, earning a slight smirk from the snow warrior. Aran rolled her eyes. How naïve can she get? She thought. "A Legend. He's someone like me." Oz made a silent "oh" sound and Aran walked into the inn along with Maha's teasing comments. "Run away from the love scene before flowers bloom out of nowhere!"

Mihile ruffled his hair and walked into the inn. "First, we'll get something to eat. Then we'll watch over him."

Oz didn't object to that. Since the idea was simple, but good. She walked along with him as her thoughts driven to the cloaked man. That man, he sends shivers down her spine. She held herself protectively and quickened her pace to catch up with Mihile.

That man, she hoped that he's the last one she'll ever see looking like that.

* * *

_Next Chapter:-_

_Chapter 7: "Dances with the Grim"_


	7. Dances with the Grim

**Chapter 7: "Dances with the Grim"**

Evan couldn't sleep, and his thoughts were spinning around what he had been told moments ago. "One of the Legends? That must be a Joke, right?" He thought and shook his head. The little Mir had been long asleep beside him; slightly snoring while it's at it. He chuckled and patted its head softly. This little creature, it managed to rummage his life upside down within a snap of his finger. Ever since the day it proclaimed that he was its master, he never get even the slightest chance to feel "peace".

Everyday, Mir would wake up the first thing in the morning, chanting all the alien languages by his side. It would always talk about how great it would be if he would just take the path to be a Dragon Master and join the people in defeating the so-called Black Mage that was sealed over 100 years ago.

"But that girl…" Evan's thoughts shifted to the platinum-haired warrior who smugly held her pole arm as if it was as light as a feather. "She doesn't seem like the kind who would lie." He rubbed his temples and looked at the tattoo on the back of his palm.

The tattoo felt warm, like it was emitting power. He turned to little Mir and felt the mark on its forehead. It felt the same, warm, and comfort. It was as if a missing piece of the puzzle in his life has finally found its rightful place, as if Mir was meant to be his dragon in the first place. But he couldn't leave. His family was all he had.

It was all because of them that he was able to live until now. If it were to be someone else, who knows what might have happened to him, who was helplessly lying in the middle of the forest of Henesys with monsters mobbing everywhere. True, he wasn't related with his family in any way, which explains how Utah never tried to bond with him as brothers should, but he loved them with all his heart. He was thankful that his mother saved him from despair, and brought up the poor him who was abandoned in the forest. He couldn't remember his past, but he cherishes the present. Right now, his family is his priority.

"Evan?" He heard his mother's voice and immediately stood up. "Mom? Are you alright?" He asked. "Don't worry, I'm still alive. Your father and brother wouldn't remember a thing, so don't worry too much. I won't tell them." She tousled his hair while Evan looked at her with worry.

He squeezed her hand. How could he ever leave her? She was his family, _and the person who saved him from the dark_. "Sleep now, Evan. You look tired." She whispered before leaving his room.

* * *

Oz was buying some sweets at one of the stalls displayed in the Henesys Market and carefully looked through the items. Henesys was indeed famous for their mushrooms and they're proud of it. There were too many mushroom merchandises and food to choose from and it was difficult, but she had finally chosen some. "I'll take this, this… oh and this too!" She saw a chocolate cake and bit her lips. It reminded her of that brunette boy's brown hair and heart-warming smile.

Immediately, she bought it, thinking that she could bring it to Evan to cheer him up and ease the tension between them. With a satisfied smile, she left the shop. Of course, she had no clue where the snow warrior was, as she always wonders around on her own. And you could care less about Mihile either. Mihile hadn't talked to her for the whole day, and she was not in the mood to make any sort of conversation with him.

She turned her heels to the farm entrance and entered the farm. "Hey, Evan." Evan looked up and he smiled when he saw her, although the smile looked a tad bit forced.

"Hey." He calmly greeted, as Mir mewed and greeted her cheerfully. Oz went over to the small table and placed the box of chocolate cake on top. "This is for you." His eyes widened and his forced smile slowly turned into a genuine one. 'Thank you." He whispered. She took a fork and cut off a little piece.

"Here, have a bite." She smiled. "But I'm not exactly in the right position to eat right now." He looked at his attire, it was slightly covered in mud and his hands were dirty. She chuckled and lifted up the fork. "Say ah!" She commanded. He chuckled, but opened his mouth. He looked happy, like he hadn't eaten anything for a while. "So how are your parents? And you brother?" She asked and he sighed. "They're okay. My mom can still order me around."

Laughing, Oz unpacked her own little bag and held out her mushroom candies. She offered Evan one, and he happily took it. "So… what do you think?" He raised an eyebrow. "What do I think about what?" She cocked her head to the side.

"About being the reincarnation of the Legend and this whole thing about the Legends?" A thoughtful expression appeared on his face as he took another bite of the cake. "I don't know… Something tells me that everything's true about what your friend told me. I have a feeling. It's like we're connected in some way… More or less. But at the same time, it seems ridiculous." He patted Mir's head as it frowned sadly at him.

"You could be a dragon master though… Master…" Mir's soft mumbles caused Evan to chuckle. "I'm just an ordinary people. How can I be some reincarnation? And why now? What exactly happened that caused this situation to rise up?" Evan had a sharp mind. "I don't have any answers to your questions… But sometimes, ordinary people can do great things too." She said and squeezed his hands.

She turned towards the window as she felt a presence. From afar, she could see Mihile leaning against the farm entrance. She sighed. "I have to go now." Evan chuckled, "Is he your boyfriend?" His question became the cause to her widened eyes.

He broke in laughter, and a little redness began to creep up onto her face, matching with her crimson hair. "He's not! I don't even like him. He's just a cold-hearted jerk." She stated as a grin appeared on Evan's face. "I will come later again and visit you, okay?" He nodded his head as she waved goodbye.

Oz left the farm and went over to Mihile with a small smile. "Had fun?" Mihile growled and looked down at her. Immediately, her smile disappeared. "Yeah, and you?" He raised an eyebrow and she walked down the hill, not caring if he was tailing after. "You should stop flirting with him." He suddenly said. She spun around in disbelief, while Mihile had his arms crossed.

"What are you saying?" She hissed, "I'm not flirting with him. I'm being nice because his family got attacked yesterday. I'm simply being friendly because he's being friendly to me!" She growled while he kept silent.

Pissed, she dug out another small bag from that bag of hers and shoved it into his hands. "I originally wanted to give this to you because I wanted to ease up the situation between us. You can forget about that now." She turned on her heels and walked away.

Mihile stared after her before turning his attention back to the bag in his hand. He opened the small bag. It was a petite, delicate bottle of pink elixir with a red ribbon tied on the neck; the ribbon was secured by an S-pin. "She noticed?" He shook his head and kept the bottle in his bag as he slowly walked after her.

* * *

Oz walked down the streets. It was already evening and she was hungry, mostly because she hadn't eaten anything besides breakfast and those mushroom candies. She was simply too angry with Mihile to bother eating.

"Insensible. Jerk!" He had been following her for a while now, but never bothered to approach her. When she gave him a warning gaze, he rolled his eyes in respond and turned away. An aroma of warm freshly baked bread and soup caught her attention, and she turned to yet again, another mushroom-shaped building. The building turns out to be a restaurant. She smiled and went into the comfortable looking restaurant.

After ordering a bowl of mushroom soup, she sat down outside. The night breeze wasn't as cold or as hot as the early morning. It was warm, and the stars were shining brightly along with the Moon. If it were the usual, she would have been sitting outside with Irena at the palace or accompanying Empress Cygnus in her studies, but now that she had seen the scenery from here… Maybe, just maybe. Leaving the palace for a while doesn't seem that bad after all.

She was halfway through her meal when suddenly, she saw Aran running past her, with no signs of her spirit lurking by her side. She was startled and she squeaked in surprise when she saw Mihile standing right behind of her. "We have to follow her, now!" He called out and the two started to catch after the snow warrior who seemed to be in a hurry.

Before the entire ruckus appeared, Mihile had been spending the day walking around town while thinking about what Oz said to him. It angered him a little, as he was aware that he couldn't seem to compose himself when he is around her, and he had to hide his true self because Oz was not a friend, she was nothing but an acquaintance, a colleague. And also because she irritated him to no ends whenever he was around her, despite only knowing her for approximately three days.

Of course, being his so-called "colleague", he had seen her in meetings, parties, and in the palace from time to time, but that doesn't immediately make them friends. He wasn't Hawkeye who naturally gets along with newcomers, nor was he Eckhart who naturally attracts curious attentions. She was a newcomer that he had never acknowledged even when she had proved her knighthood in front of the Empress herself. He refuses to acknowledge a person who can barely run to save her life as one of the Empress's protector. So you can say she was nothing but an eyesore to him. He doesn't care about her and so does she. That was, until now that they're stuck together in this ridiculous mission.

Something caught his attention on the way back to the inn. Aran had run past him, though with the same serious look on her face, she seemed to be in a hurry. He immediately went to Oz when he saw her eating at the restaurant. "Why is she in such a hurry?" She asked, and his response was a shrug of his shoulder.

"God knows, just follow her." He turned into a smaller road within the Henesys Park and Oz nearly ran into Aran, who was panted as she clutch onto her pole arm tightly, her knuckles were turning into a lighter shade of her skin.

Evan was standing there, his eyes widened as his knuckles turned pale from the sight he was seeing. "Mom…" He whispered. His mother stood next to the same tall, hooded man, her eyes wide in fear.

* * *

Moments ago, Aran was relaxing on the thick branches of one of the trees in the south hill of Henesys. She felt refreshed, you could say, as she yawned and was beginning to doze off. "A short nap wouldn't hurt." She thought and closed her eyes for the slightest second. But of course, the Spirit of the Pole Arm will never, ever, leave her alone.

"Oh hell no, you're certainly not sleeping!" Maha's voice rummaged through her nerves as she opened her eyes with a sharp glare. "I am." She said sternly and closed her eyes again, but Maha wasn't going to give up just yet. "Yeah? Well I'm bored. Entertain me." He crossed his arms and groaned inwardly.

Aran opened her eyes and rubbed her temples. Surely, he isn't planning to give her a good time, as usual. "Entertain you?" She raised an eyebrow. "How does dropping you from this height sound to you?" She raised the pole arm in mid air and smirked when Maha's face turned pale. She wasn't really planning to do it, but that was until the spirit began to challenge her.

"You wouldn't." He said, slightly confident in his reply. She rolled her eyes, throwing off her previous thoughts about wanting to scare him only. "Watch me." She was about to let go of the pole arm, until he heard a soft shuffle coming from the bush near her.

Raising an eyebrow, she pulled back and looked down. The feeling was back again, and she knows it. It was the same uneasy feeling from before. "Maha, keep an eye on that brat for me. If anything goes wrong, you know how to get to me." She commanded, and the spirit nodded in reply. "Roger that." He flew to search for the brunette, while the platinum furrowed her eyes at the sight of the cloaked man who came out of the bush.

"The same man, huh." She tightened her grip on her pole arm as she watch the man looking around before taking quick steps away.

"Let's wait and see what you have in mind then." She whispered and jumped down from the tree. She increased her speed and sped up to catch up with the man. A mental string pulled on her pole arm, causing her to stop her movements and looked at her pole arm in question. It was definitely Maha's signal, she thought.

"Maha…" She mumbled as she noticed the direction the pole arm was reaching for. She furrowed her brows and turned to the direction where the man went. "That can wait, I guess." She made her decision and charged towards the way Maha directed her to.

"Maha!" She called, and the spirit appeared before her eyes. "Aran! He ran right there!" He pointed at the hidden street in Henesys Park and they dashed off. She stopped her tracks right there and her hold tightened on her pole arm.

Instead of the man they see before, it was a different man. "But they're still the same." She thought as she silently buffed her skills. _"Pole arm Booster."_ She held her pole arm in position. _"Snow Charge."_ Maha's soul merged with her pole arm, but not before he gave her a warning.

"Go crazy, Aran. Dance with them." He smirked as the spirit fuses with his body.

Aran chuckled, before pulling a smirk on her face.

"We'll see who's going crazy here."

* * *

_Next Chapter:-_

_Chapter 8: "Sabbath Under the Moonlight"_


	8. Sabbath Under the Moonlight

**Chapter 8: "Sabbath Under the Moonlight"**

Evan was just keeping the tools when he saw his mother walking out of the house accompanied by a man. It wasn't his father. He raised an eyebrow and took a better look at the sight. His mother wasn't exactly joyful as usual; her eyes were budging with fright. That was when he dropped the tools and began to run after her. "Mom…" He ran with Mir tailing after. "Mir! Quick! We have to find them!" He commanded as they trailed off.

The man stopped, so he did the same and looked at that man. "Who are you? What do you want from her?" He asked, but before the man was able to answer her question, he felt a presence behind him. It was no other than the snow warrior who caught up with them, thanks to Maha. "We need nothing from her. We want you. You and her." The man nodded his head at Aran, whose expression hardened upon hearing that.

"We?" Aran thought and was thinking of charging over, but seconds later, Oz and Mihile caught up with a pant as they clutched onto their weapons tightly. "Mom…" Evan frowned and glared at the man.

Mihile turned to Oz and gave her the signal. "Teleport to his mother's side, save her and run." Was what he initially assigned for her to do, since she was the only one who had the skill to teleport, excluding Evan who couldn't even move a muscle, seeing as he is one of their main targets. Oz nodded and disappeared from Mihile's side. She reappeared next to Evan's mother with her hands emitting a bow and arrow made of fire. _"Fire Arrow!" _She shot the man's forearm and teleported back to Mihile's side.

"Run! You two! Now!" He shouted at Aran and Evan. Lifting Evan's mother on his back, they started running, aware of the fact that both Aran and Evan are tailing behind them. The man let out a roar and his skin started to rip apart, revealing a huge and hideous beast.

Oz was immediately hit with fear. That thing was huge, with huge bat-like wings attached to its back, strong, built long limbs with sharp claws, and leather-like skin. Its eyes were fiery red, and its fangs were sharp as blades. She wanted to move, but was too frightened to command her body to react to it.

"Oz!" Mihile shouted as the monster started to move. Oz still couldn't react. He cursed under his breath and gave Evan's mother back to him. "Teleport away from here, now!" He commanded and ran towards Oz, pulling out his sword for defense as he placed his arm around her waist. "Hold on tight." He whispered and turned to run with her in his arms.

They ran through an alternative path, avoiding the town as they cross the north region of Henesys. They were quick enough to outrun the monster, as surprisingly, the beast couldn't fly even with its wings. "Sir Mihile, I can run on my own now." Oz said as she noticed the bits of sweat forming on his face. He nodded and placed her down, just as the beast started to catch up with them.

Aran cursed inwardly and they began to run again. Oz panted slightly, as she wasn't able to catch up with Mihile's speed after a few moments and began to tail off. Aran, who noticed the same trait coming from Evan who was holding onto his mother, passed his mother over to Mihile, grabbed the said boy on his neck, threw him over her shoulder and then did the same with Oz. "Hold on tight, you low stamina nerds." Maha appeared with a smirk and Aran immediately activated her _combat step_, dashing off quickly along with Mihile. "This is faster."

"Aran! Let me down! I can run on my own!" Alright, maybe not a good idea. Annoyed, Aran immediately threw the responsibility of carrying Oz back to the Knight of Light and eyed back at the beast that is still running after them. It wasn't as fast as they thought it would be, probably because of its size, and it couldn't fly too, probably because of the same reason.

"That thing needs a diet." Aran concluded, earning a sweat drop from Evan who was being carried by her on her shoulder. "We have to kill him somehow." Mihile shouted, though he wanted to do the honor in slaughtering the beast into pieces, he was out of hand. One more thing though, Oz is heavy. Aran sighed and lifted her pole arm. "Kid, order your dragon to do something. We don't have all day." She demanded as she concentrated her mana onto the pole arm.

"I'm going to throw you now!" She warned before throwing Evan off her shoulder and broke off the inertia with a break of her heels and boost over to the beast. Evan fell with a heavy hit in the back and rubbed his back as Mir caught up with him. "Master!" It cried and moved closer to him, as Evan smiled and reached for his wand. "Let's get over this." He pointed his wand at the beast and casted. _"Fire circle!"_

A light glowed on the skin of Mir's body the minute he chanted the skill, and it grew larger and larger. Evan's eyes widened in surprise, as the little Mir he once knew turned into a dragon of his size. "Ho… Not bad." Maha mumbled from beside Aran. Evan was stunned, immobile until Aran let out a grunt in disapproval. "Oi! Kid!" She shouted, and Evan immediately whipped his concentration back in the game. He huffed and smiled at Mir, who mewed in return. Due to the pact they've made, Evan was able to share the knowledge and information obtained by Mir.

_"Lightning Bolt!"_ Mir roared as lightning stroked from above to the beast and Aran immediately charged with a stab and a strike of her pole arm. "Combo Fenrir." A pack-condensed energy of wolves formed and attacked the beast, damaging it twice as hard as Evan's attack and knocked the beast back, giving them time to run further. "Quick. We have to run before it regains conscious." Once again, she grabbed Evan by his collar and threw him over her shoulder as they ran, reaching the Six-Cross Path as they speak.

"What was that?" Oz whispered. Her body was still shaking in fear as Mihile let her down, along with Evan's mother. With his arm still around her waist, he tightened his grip around her, and she was grateful for his support, as she couldn't feel her legs. She leaned against him as he tried to catch his breath. He panicked, for once in his life after being the leader of his clan, he panicked. He had never seen something like that before, at least, none of it appears in Ereve.

"I… oh god, what was that!?" Oz's fingers clutched onto Mihile's arms. "I don't know… I've never seen anything like that before." Evan whispered, sitting next to his mother on the ground. "We should hurry up and leave this place. Just give me a second." Mihile took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He panicked, therefore resulting his inconsistent use of oxygen and then the lack of oxygen in his lungs.

"That thing is surely after us. It wasn't fast, but it sure isn't weak." Aran said as she grabbed Evan on his arm and carried him on her shoulder again. "Hey! You know! I have my own legs!" He shouted, but she didn't bother to argue. That was her primary intention. "Your legs couldn't even get you going for 5 minutes." She rolled her eyes and turned to the others. "Let's go." She turned to Evan's mother and raised an eyebrow on her.

"Leave me behind." Evan's mother whispered. Evan's eyes widened. "Mom, what are you talking about?" He asked her, aghast. "It's inside me… run… Just run!" She shouted and took quick steps back, clutching her own heart. Evan paled as her face suddenly grimaced in an eerie way.

Her skin shrunk and stretched until it completely burst, ripped apart like the man before. Instead of having his mother standing there, it was that same beast that they were dealing with moments ago. Evan paled. "What just happened…? Did mom just…" He couldn't register the events. "Watch out!" Oz shouted and Aran immediately dodged the attack.

Its claws was close to colliding with Oz, but Mihile managed to save her in time by grabbing her on her waist and dodged with her in his arms. "Crap!" Oz cursed, waking from her daze and clutched on her staff. "Try getting a wand next time, that things is a nuisance." Mihile rolled his eyes and pulled out his huge sword. "I could say the same to you!" She shouted back.

"Aran!" He shouted and the said warrior turned to him, raising her eyebrow. She looked over her shoulder to Evan who didn't react when Oz called his name. He was completely rigid to the fact that his mother just died in front of him.

"Evan!" Oz shouted again. "Wake up!" She pleaded as Mihile let her down on a safe spot and jumped down from the branch of the Treetop. He held his sword with both his hands and slashed down to the beast's arm. He grimaced. The bone structure of that beast was harder than any monsters he had faced. He dodged back as its claw reached to grab him. With a swift slide under its feet, he dodged its wings and groaned. _"Intrepid Slash!"_ He turned around and slashed the monster's back. In rage, it turned around and unleashed its claws, wounding Mihile's shoulder in the process.

"Mihile, Duck!" Oz screamed as volcano-hot rocks appeared and fell right on top of the beast's head. "Fire Pillar." Oz casted the spell as a magic circle was casted in front of her with her signature flame symbol in the middle. The beast cried out in pain as another pillar fell with a bolt of lightning crashed onto it. Immediately, the beast froze. Evan had his hand tightly gripping onto his wand, as his eyes glared dangerously at the beast. His eyes were teary, but his expression was showing clear fury and anger.

"Lightning bolt!" He growled and Mir hissed with a wave of short electricity flowing from its horns. The beast was covered in electric; its nerves were severely numb from the presence of the electricity within its body that it couldn't bear to move, but it wasn't near enough to kill it. "Oz! Stop casting those spells of yours! You'll burn the forest down!" Mihile shouted while he held his wounded shoulder and Oz hissed in anger. "Argh! Why is this place full of useless trees and grass?!"

Aran threw Evan off her back as she landed on one of the branches near Oz and jumped down, with her pole arm in position as she slashed the beast into halve, claiming the last kill and turned to Mihile with a tired look on her face. She scanned Mihile's wounds briefly and turned around with a sigh.

"You need a diet after all." Panting, she said to the beast as it freezes up from its opened wound to his whole body. Evan's knees gave in. Never had he thought that his family would end up in this situation ever. He had always thought that they would live peacefully as ever. That was all he thought when he rejected their explanations about him being a part of the Legends. He wanted to live that peaceful life with his family till his fullness. But now…

She was dead. His savior… **Gone forever**. "Evan…" Oz whispered as she teleported to his side. When she reached out to touch him, he slapped her hand away. "No!" He cried out, and she stepped back in shock.

He was frightened, he was sinking in despair. Why? Why must this happen to him? Why must the world do this to the ones he care for? His body trembled as he tried to hold back his tears, but with one careful touch of Oz's as she knelt down and carefully brushed his hair back, he broken down and cried into her shoulders with his head buried in the crook of her neck. Silently, Aran sighed, and Mihile watched the two from below.

Slowly, he got to the branch where they were seated at and placed his hand on Evan's shoulder. It was his own solace, and this gesture from Mihile made Oz look into his eyes that shown understanding. She asked herself, curious. What could have happened to Mihile before for him to understand everything so easily? What is his past?

Aran shifted in alert when she spotted another one of that same beast running over. In a swift movement, she caught branches by branches and eventually went to them. "We've got to go." She said. Oz's eyes rounded, and she began to tremble lightly. "You got to be kidding." She whispered.

"This." Aran pulled another scroll, and Oz eventually raised her eyebrows. "What is that-" Before she could complete her sentence, the scroll started to glow and they eventually ended up back in Ereve, crashing in the middle of the conference room.

The royal advisor jumped up, shocked. "Mihile? Oz?" His fellow Knight of Light was sweating and was pale as a ghost. His white buttoned up shirt was drenched in blood from the wound on his shoulder. Beside him, were Oz, Aran who was sweating and panting, and a delicate looking man. "Sir Nineheart." Oz called between pants.

"What the hell is this?!" Hawkeye's voice rumbled through the whole room as they noticed a huge blue creature nudging the delicate man softly, and Nineheart's eyes widened. He is one of the Legends. He looked drained and slightly hysterical. Mihile suddenly collapsed and a painful expression appeared on Oz's face. "Irena! Get the healer! Quick!" Nineheart commanded and the peridot-haired girl did as told.

"What happened?" He whispered. "Monster… Got attacked…" Oz replied back, as she turned to Aran who was still trying to catch her breath as she ran her fingers through her messed up hair. She guessed that she'd have to tie it back again.

Nineheart was speechless. That couldn't be true.

* * *

Everyone was brought to his or her respective rooms to rest and heal. Oz wasn't injured, but she had the sudden urge to talk to someone. Therefore she got out of her room and left the Grand Hall of Flame. She had absolutely no clue of who to go to. Sure, she was guilty about allowing Mihile to get hurt while she, herself didn't have the least bit of scratch on her face. And boy, does she want to bottle everything out to just about anyone.

A few candidates struck in her mind as she walks down the corridor mindlessly. First, Irena is a **no, no**. Irena cherishes her beauty sleep, and if one were to disturb her sleep, they'll receive an invitation to hell. She thought of another candidate. Hawkeye, Irena once warned her not to enter his room without her or any other sane person around her. Though the reason remains unknown, she took Irena's advice and decided not to look for Hawkeye. And Evan… Evan was too hysterical to talk at the moment. Aran? She's probably snoring off the day. She wouldn't even dare to step into the room knowing the weapon might just "accidentally" murder her under his master's orders saying "Don't let any idiots in".

Her last resort leaves her a sigh, as her feet automatically took her to the Grand Hall of Light. It was currently night time, so there weren't any knights of light wondering around the building, saving her from the embarrassment might face if she were to be spotted going into their clan leader's room. Not that they were doing anything inappropriate.

She knocked the door, but no one responded. "Sir Mihile?" She quietly asked, but then shook her head and turned around. "He wouldn't want to see me… Look at the time and think, you idiot." She thought. But at that moment, the door opened. "Come in." He said. She glanced back and cautiously stepped inside his room.

Mihile was lying on his stomach with his face hidden in his pillow. He looked tired and exhausted. So exhausted, that he was actually sleeping without his shirt on. "How are you?" She asked, sitting on a chair as she looked at the bandage covering his wounded shoulder. He glanced at her.

"Could be better." He growled. There was a moment of silence. "How about you?" He asked. She looked down. "Okay… I guess…" Her voice was but a mere whisper, but it sounded just fine in the silent room. Feeling his sapphire orbs watching, she shifted uneasily and bit her lips. "I should go… I guess…" She whispered. "Sorry for bothering you." As she stood up, he quietly mumbled. "Thanks for the elixir. It's boosting my healing speed."

She bit her lips harder, trying to stop the little smile from appearing on her face. "No problem." She replied and left his room.

* * *

_Next Chapter:-_

_Chapter 9: "That Pair of Aquamarine that were Engulfed by Rage"_


	9. That Pair of Aquamarine

**Chapter 9: "That Pair of Aquamarine that were Engulfed by Rage" **

Nineheart had requested the four to meet him in the conference room. There were already treats and tea ready by the time Oz and Evan arrive to the scene. Evan helped himself as he chewed calmly. He looked slightly tired, and his eyes were red and puffy, indicating the tears that fell yesterday night. "I'm sorry." Oz whispered as she squeezed his hand. He tried to smile, but she shook her head.

"Don't force it. It's alright." She said. She could see tears forming in his eyes again. "She's dead… Because of me." His hands trembled as he tried to hold the feeling in, not wanting to show that least bit of weak side of him to the royal advisor. Oz frowned and allowed him to lean his head on her shoulder. The door opened and Mihile came in. He looked better now and when he saw her, he nodded his head in acknowledgement.

Behind him came Aran, her expression was the usual, casual, with a hint of boredom written all over her face. Oz glared at Aran. How is it possible for her to not give even a single crap for what has happened to Evan? He just lost his mother for god sake! "Aran, you seem normal as usual." She rolled her eyes sarcastically, causing the Snow Warrior to raise an eyebrow on her. "What's your problem?" She asked, straight to the point as usual.

"You. You're the problem. Can't you see that Evan just…" Aran rolled her eyes. "I don't see the problem there." She crossed her arms and sat down. Evan looked up with a glare. "You could just shut up and nobody will think that you're mute." He hissed, and Maha appeared with a growl. "Or you could just gather your shattered common sense and think with the limited nerve cells you have left." The spirit said with an annoyed look plastered on his face. "So your mother died, big deal."

"What did you say?" Evan got up from his seat, ready to charge over to deal with Aran. Screw level differences, he's going to kill her today. But Aran merely rolled her eyes and leaned back to her seat. "Maha." She warned, and the spirit immediately silenced. She sighed and crossed her arms, seeing as the Fire Caster was more than ready to roast her, clearly, she couldn't keep it to herself any longer.

"Stop getting all worked up." Mihile's voice surprised the two magicians. He had been there, sitting in silent as he watch the three with their annoying bickering. "As Aran said, it wasn't a big deal-"

"I thought you cared?! You showed it yesterday! I never thought-" Oz shouted, but was silenced by the freed Pole Arm. Aran had released her pole arm and left it leaning on the table beside her. And of course, the pissed Maha would move his body freely to silence that annoying bird when he has the chance. Aran wasn't even stopping him.

Mihile cleared his throat. "That was until-" The door opened, revealing Nineheart, and his expression was serious. Mihile and Oz stood up and bowed as Evan gave Oz an unsure look, Aran was just being Aran, she had no slight respect what-so-ever. "It's okay, just sit." Nineheart said and sat down. He gave Evan a comforting smile. "The weather is nice today isn't it?" He asked, and Evan gave him a questioning look.

"I'm sorry?" Evan asked, and the latter chuckled. "Don't worry too much. Your mother wouldn't like to see you like this." He said and took a sip of the tea he was offered. Evan raised an eyebrow and looked away, feeling dejected. "We have assigned guards to protect your family, your mother's in safe hands now." Oz and Evan's eyes snapped back to Nineheart. Mihile was faking a cough and Maha rolled his eyes. "Idiots."

"Sir, I thought I heard wrong, could you possibly repeat your sentence?" Oz asked, and Aran rolled her eyes. "Don't repeat yourself. Just tell us what do you know about that beast." Aran turned to Nineheart. Nineheart chuckled, then sighed and leaned back on his chair. "First of all, yes, his mother is fine. It was a shape shifter that acted like his mother. And about your question, miss Aran, the beast is a Balrog, a Jr. Balrog for exact." Oz was astonished. "A Balrog?" They all said in unison as Nineheart nodded his head. "But that couldn't be! Balrogs are sealed deep within the Sleepywood dungeon! And they can't shift their shape into a human's!"

Nineheart didn't reply immediately but then he said, "According to the information that we have obtained from the agents in Victoria Island, someone has been experimenting on monsters around the island. It resulted the monsters to behave strangely and more vicious than usual. This might possibly be one of the reasons for the change in the monster's abilities." Oz could sense the worry in his voice, and it sent shudders down her spine.

This wasn't good news. She glanced over at Mihile. His face was back to his stoic look rather than the Mihile with more emotions a few days ago, when they were in Henesys. A monster that is able to shift its shape and hide its true form. This will definitely do harm to the people of the Maple World.

"Who is the person experimenting on these monsters?" She asked. The royal advisor let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, we still don't know who did it or how many monsters he or she had succeeded in evolving… We're still looking into it, though every time we were close to catching the culprit, he manages to sneak off in just about a nick of time." There was a catch in his voice that Oz didn't like, but she didn't bother to ask.

"How exactly are we going to save Maple World?" Aran asked suddenly. Nineheart looked at the Legend and raised his eyebrow. "I don't know. But judging from the circumstances, I guess it's to fight the man and the people he's under of. For now." Next to Oz, Evan paled. "But why us?" He asked.

"That, my friend, is a question I can't answer you."

* * *

A few days passed and currently, they were on the Sky Ferry back to Victoria Island again. Evan was thrilled to see his family safe, but Nineheart warned him not to go near his home for the safety of his family. Despite the circumstances, he was thrilled to hear that his mother was still alive, and not dead as what he thought before.

Aran was reading the map that was given to her by Nineheart. It was the Victoria Island's map. Red circles were drawn clearly on sections of the map to lessen their work. "We were in Henesys, yet we didn't meet up with Athena Pierce…" Oz sighed and crossed her arms. "I wonder who was at fault?" Aran commented as she marked an X on the lower region of the map – Henesys.

"Where should we go after Henesys?" She turned to Mihile and asked, completely ignoring the fire caster who was glaring daggers at her. Mihile shrugged. "Wherever the ship sails." He said.

It's once again evening when they reached Henesys. The group wasted no time to meet Athena Pierce in the Bowman Instructional School, with the help of agent Roca. "Please to meet you, it must have been a long journey for you. Here, have a seat." Athena said as she too, sat down. "Thank you, Elder Athena." Oz said and they took their seats.

"Now, what can I help you with?" Athena took a sip from her cup and stared at Aran with such intense gaze that caused the Snow warrior to shift uncomfortably in her seat. Athena Pierce, she is a woman that strives for equality and fairness. She is strong headed, responsible and judgmental when it comes to strangers, therefore, the three within the group who are familiar with Athena began to worry for the poor snow warrior who was being glared suspiciously on by her. Though they felt sorry for her, deep within Oz, she thought Aran needs to feel intimidated for once to learn her lesson on not to get too arrogant.

"Say, am I getting old? Or am I seeing a familiar face here?" Athena asked as she continued to stare at Aran. Aran turned away from her. It was a normal reaction coming from a person who had amnesia. She couldn't remember anything of the past, how is it possible for her to remember if she had seen someone like Athena Pierce? "Besides, who is this woman anyway?" Aran thought as she turned to observe the woman in question. Judging from her ears and how she said she's getting old, she doesn't seem like she's human. If Athena had met her before, that means Athena was also of at least 100 years of age. She furrowed her eyes and leaned back on her seat.

Oz sighed and decided to introduce Athena to her. "Aran, this is one of the Elders of Victoria, Elder of Henesys – Athena Pierce." She said and turned to Athena. "I'm sorry, Elder Athena, but it seems that Aran here has lost her memories of the past when she was awaken from the curse." She explained to Athena, who seemed confused.

Athena smiled. "I see." She said and looked over to Aran. "I am Athena Pierce, the Elder of Henesys, as mentioned by Oz. Calling me Athena is just fine, judging from the fact that you're actually older than me." She said to Aran and then turned to Evan. "And you, Evan. What brings you here?"

Evan smiled nervously and bit his lips. "Actually…" He looked over at Mihile. "How should I say this…?" He rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. Mihile sighed and turned to Athena. "He is one of the Legends." He said, and Athena's eyes widened for a split second, before she composed herself. "I see. I supposed I could have expected that." She said and turned to face the Dawn Warrior.

"Now, shall we get to business?" With that, everyone gathered along and discussed. "From what you have said, you are currently looking for the Legends, and currently, you are lost because you couldn't find the road to Elluel or Serenity. Am I right?" She asked, and the rest nodded their heads in unison.

Athena smiled. "I'm sorry, I didn't have the slightest idea of where Serenity is. I have an idea where Elluel is though, but I can't bring you there." She said and got up from her seat. "You should talk to Grendel, he is at the Magic Library of Ellinia. It's best if you go now, as the library closes fairly early." She told them and picked up her bow. "Now would you excuse me, I've got to continue training my fellow students." Oz and Mihile stood up, bowed as they watch her leave. Then they turned to each other.

"Well, shall we?" She asked him, and he nodded his head. They turned to Aran who nodded her head, and Evan who smiled at them. "Sure." They said and stood up.

* * *

_"Your highness! Please, run while you still can! For this curse… This curse…!"_ The numbness on her throat cleared as she slowly opened her eyes. "Is it… morning already…?" Running her fingers through her long lime-blond hair, she rose from her sleep and looked at her surroundings. "Where… am I?" She asked herself as she rubbed her temples in pain. "Right, we have defeated the Black Mage… We sealed him up for good…" She smiled as she held her head, still feeling in pain. "I wonder how are Freud and the others." Her brows furrowed as she got up from her bed, feeling her muscles tensed even as she tried to walk.

"This is going to be a huge problem." She thought as she left the room. Allured by the faint scent of cherry blossoms falling from the sky, she looked up and shaded her eyes with her hand. "Too bright." She thought as she looked around the place. "The elders… My people… They're still frozen…" She walked over to the three elders under the huge tree and placed her hand over the ice. "Philius, Astilda… Danika…" She closed her eyes as she sadly called for them, but received no reply.

"That's right. Because of the curse of the Black Mage, my people were cursed into a frozen slumber… And to prevent this curse from reaching to the other regions… We sealed the only entrance…" Her eyes widened in surprise. "The seal!" She rushed over to the Fountainhead Pillar to check the seal. It was broken, but there were no signs of monsters entering the place. She sighed in relief. "Thank goodness." She mumbled and took a better look of her surroundings.

"Suspicious." She thought as she looked at the broken seal, then to her people who were still frozen. "Why am I the only one who has gotten over the curse?" She asked herself as she squeezed and stretched her palm. Apparently, her muscles were still tensed, she began to move her shoulders, trying to ease and loosen her tensed muscles. "I guess this is the result of sleeping for too long." She sighed and crooks her head to the side with her hand on her neck. A soft crack could be heard before she turned to the other side and did the same.

"Weird, why does my body feel a little heavier and weaker than usual?" She questioned as she continued to stretch. "Something's wrong…" She mumbled and reached for the weapons that she accidentally dropped on the ground near the elders. She tried picking them up, but failed. She raised an eyebrow and tried again, but couldn't. They were just too heavy for her to pick up. Her eyes furrowed dangerously as she look at her hand in question.

"Something's awfully wrong." She concluded as her eyes twitch in fury. "Don't tell me…" Her eyes widened and her hands began to tremble in anger. "Impossible…" Her lips trembled slightly, before she bit her lips to prevent herself from growling in anger. "Level 10…" That disbelieving number stumbled awkwardly under her tongue and past her lips.

"Level… 10…" Slowly, her overworked brain was trying to digest the severity of the situation that stabs right through her head. It was almost so painful to see the horrible color of that number bursting right before her very eyes as how much she hated that number, unless there was a presence of another circle accompanying the numbers by its right. That, she might consider.

"Level 10." She was close to insanity, if it weren't for her lack of energy at the moment, she would have probably pulled all of her blond streaks out and just shot herself to death. Of all her years of ruling as the Elven Queen, this was the first time she had received such humiliation. Just by thinking about it made her anger grow in massive speed.

"Level 10!" She could imagine the walls crumbling behind her. As much as she would like to feel the ground trembling beneath her, she ought to calm down and face the reality with a calm and righteous attitude; as such a behavior is unacceptable for a royalty. She took a deep breath and thought of the number again… Oh, screw noble attitude.

"Level 10… Level 10. **LEVEL 10**!" Her furious royal cries echoed loudly throughout the entire silent village. "Damn to the Black Mage. Damn to him for fooling with me with such jokes!" She began to throw tantrums as she grabbed a hold of her hair and screamed her lungs out.

**"DAMN THAT BLACK MAGE FOR TAKING AWAY MY POWERS!"**

* * *

_Next Chapter:-_

_Chapter 10: "Close as a Brush of Their Shoulders"_


	10. Close as a Brush of their Shoulders

**Chapter 10: "Close as a Brush of Their Shoulders"**

"Evan, can I ask you something?" Evan raised his head and nodded. His cheeks puffed because he was chewing on his breakfast. Last night, the group approached Ellinia before night falls and reserved two rooms for them and decided to rest before starting to search for the hidden entrace to Elluel. "How old are you?" This question caught Evan off guard, but then he smiled and faced the fire caster.

"I'm 20. Oz. is there any problem with my age?" Oz's jaw dropped. Aran was just as surprised as the Spirit of the Pole Arm, as Maha's jaw was imaginarily resting on the ground. "You're joking." Oz said, slowly clasping her hand over her mouth. "I'm not. I really am 20…" Evan rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. "B-but if that's so then you're the same age as me! I am also 20 years old!"

Aghast that he was actually 20 and not any younger, she stared at him. Somehow, she was actually expecting him to be around 16 years old, not the same age as she is!

He stuffed sweet bun into his mouth and smiled blissfully, "Why do you ask?" He turned to Oz and asked. She shrugged her shoulders, looking dejected. "I was curious, 'cause you look so young…" Evan chuckled as he stuffed another bun into his mouth and feed Mir the meat bun. "I guess I do look young." He smiled all so charmingly. "I don't look my age either." Aran mumbled and chomped onto the meat bun, as Oz turned to glare daggers at her. "That's because you were frozen." As Oz rolled her eyes, Mihile appeared next to her and pulled out a seat for himself.

"I talked to Elder Grendel and obtained the old map to Elluel. And yes, I asked agent Hersha, who was assigned to this area too." He turned to Oz and said before she could start asking questions. He reached to get his hand on one of the meat buns, though he hesitated due to the fact that the buns actually had colors painted on them. Oz chuckled. "Take the yellow one. It's an Evil Eye Meat Bun." She said and he nodded, before taking her suggestion. "I thought the white one is the safest, guess I was wrong." Maha rubbed his chin and observed the buns from the side. He had never eaten something like this before, and he wasn't even able to try. Aran turned to him with a smirk on her face. "You want one?" Her gestures expressed along with her raised brow. He glared at her. "Just eat." He growled and crossed his arms.

"To go to Elluel, we have to first climb up the Chimney Tree…" Mihile said and eyed Oz suspiciously. "What?" Oz snapped at him and asked. "Can you even climb?" He smirked when she started fuming. "What does that suppose to mean?" She groaned, as Evan tried to calm the two down. Aran, feeling bored, decided to just let them all be and yawned as she looked around Ellinia.

Her chrysocolla orbs caught the sight of a male with platinum wild hair walking down the road with a fairly young girl that looks of Evan's age. She furrowed her eyes as she watched the two walking further and further away from her sight. "Familiar looking…" She thought. "That guy looks so familiar…" She turned to Maha who was still sulking beside her. He couldn't have seen that guy, or did he? "Maha." She called, and he looked up at her from his sitting position. "What?" She sighed. "Nope, he didn't see him." She thought and continued munching on the meat bun.

"Basically, we already had an idea where Elluel is, it's just to get in there." Oz concluded with a clap of her hands. "Then it's easy work!" She grinned, and Mihile turned to her in question. "It's easy if you can actually climb up that tree." He rolled his eyes as she punched him on his shoulder. Mihile gave her a bored look and turned away. "Even your punch is like air." Oz rolled her eyes and got up. "I'll just get myself some Health Potion, and possibly some speed potion, happy?" She growled at him.

Before she can walk away, he grabbed her wrist. "I have more than enough Health Potion to spare, we don't have much time now. Let's go." He told the two Legends and stood up. "I don't need any of your potions. I can get my own-"

"Well then, I'll accompany you to the general store. I might need something too." He said bluntly and walked, dragging her along with him while leaving Evan and Aran back at that same spot. "Are we not going to follow them?" Evan asked. Maha appeared with a shrug of his shoulders. "Unless you want to get sick due to all the diabetes-inducing, eye-itching, ears-twitching, face-reddening, disgusting flirting actions that the two were showing publicly, I suggest you not to." He said and turned to Aran. "I'm more curious in what you have to say though."

Aran turned to them, her signature bored look played on her face as she munched the last meat bun on the plate. "We have better things to do than stalking them. You perverted monkeys. Let's go." She stood up and climbed up the ropes to get to the next branch of the huge tree of Ellinia Forest. "Now where did they go…?" She turned to the little fairy casually adjusting the blue ribbon on her head. "Hey." She called and caught the fairy's attention. "Yes? Oh, you're a human. What do you want?" She grunted.

Under normal circumstances, Aran would have snapped and that useless fairy would have been begging for mercy by now. But now, she had better things to do than wasting a useless odd breed that couldn't even fly and still call herself a fairy. "Have you seen a man with platinum-white hair? His hair is about shoulder-length; he is wearing white clothes too. The one with a blond-haired girl." The fairy rubbed her chin and thought, as her other hand reached to twirl with her finger.

"And what if I have?" The fairy smirked at the Snow warrior who furrowed her eyes dangerously at her. "Then spill." She said, as she tightened her hold on her pole arm. This fairy is slowly getting on her nerves. Evan successfully climbed up the branch that Aran was in and ran after her. "Aran!" He called and stopped right beside her to catch his breath. "Why are you running so fast for-"

"Look, human. I believe you can't get me to spill the beans without a fair trade. So if you don't have anything I could have to trade with the information you need, I'm afraid I can't do anything about it." The corner of Aran's eyes twitched dangerously as her lips curled upwards. "Ho. Really." She asked. Somehow, her voice sounded specifically dangerous and deep.

"I guess I'll just have to beat my way for it. Now do I?" She smiled, and Evan immediately dropped the wand that was given by Oz. Thankfully, it didn't fall off the branch. Pull that thought back, Aran just smiled, and he is awfully close to her. This could mean business. He thought and took a few steps back, making sure that he isn't going to fall off the tree as he carefully watched the snow warrior move her pole arm.

This isn't going to be pretty after all.

* * *

Oz didn't notice it the previous day, but the branches of the huge tree Ellinia was secured in glistens under the sunlight that concentrates at only a few areas. As thick leaves shaded the town, it only allowed limited amount of light into the place, making it a rather beautiful sight for her to see. "Wow…" She watched the scenery in awe as she was close to the general store. But of course, being Oz, she stopped and gawked at the scenery more, rather than simply buying the things that she needs and leaves.

Ellinia wasn't merely a town built in a forest; it is a town that was protected by the forest itself with its veins and huge, thick leaves and also the huge, thick branches that were made as ladders and grounds above the land. But that wasn't all Ellinia is known as. Other than being known for being the town within a forest, it is also known for its unique flower species and herbs. Once every two weeks, the people of Ellinia would harvest the flowers and export them to other towns. They would also open small booths around Ellinia where people could buy and also look at the variety of flowers of Ellinia.

A small classical wooden booth with colorful colors caught Oz's attention. There was a young and shy-looking girl standing behind it, and as she approached her together with Mihile, her face turned into a deep shade of scarlet. "Hey there." Oz greeted, and she replied silently.

As Oz chuckled, the girl looked up and her face turned into a deeper shade of red as Mihile leaned in to take a closer look at the flowers, being curious and all. Oz took a short glance at him then smiled at the girl. "C-can I help you?" The girl stuttered and he raised an eyebrow. Oz smiled at her. "I want to buy some flowers. Can you arrange me a nice, little bouquet?" She asked.

The girl nodded and begins arranging the flowers that Oz had chosen for her bouquet. "Why are you buying a bouquet? You're going to throw it away anyhow." Oz turned to him and faked a smile. "Just shut up." She said while smiling and turned back to the girl. Noticing how her gaze wavered to Mihile from time to time, she decided to ask her. "Do you think he's handsome?" Oz asked, and her face immediately turned in pure crimson that Oz nearly regretted asking that question. "I-I do… think he's handsome…" The girl whispered, which caused Oz to blink her green eyes at the girl.

Mihile crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at that girl. Though he wasn't doing anything, Oz was sure that the girl was on the verge of fainting. "Thanks for the compliment." He said sternly and turned away.

"Do you think he's handsome too?" The girl's question had caught Oz off guard and a light shade of pink crept up her face. Not knowing what to answer, she stuttered. "I… Uh… Well… Urr…" She bit her lips as the girl handed her the flower. Just in time, Mihile turned around and took the bouquet from the girl. "Don't ask someone like her. She doesn't even act like a girl in the first place." He turned to her and smirked. Pissed, she pushed him away and he laughed.

"Don't listen to him. He himself couldn't be counted as a man." Oz told the girl and paid. The girl laughed and thanked Oz. The two decided, or rather, Oz decided to walked around the area for a little longer before entering the general store and she took the flowers out of his hands and gave them to an elderly woman. "Why did you buy them in the first place?" Mihile asked and raised his eyebrow.

"Because she looked lost, and I wanted to be nice." She shrugged and walked away, unaware of that little smile that played on his face behind her back. "Hey, you! Handsome lad!" A blond girl giggled and waved the two knights over.

Surprised, the two looked up. She was a petite; a delicate looking girl, just like the girl before, the only difference though, was that this girl had a mixture of confident and gentle personality, and also a bonus of a warm and gentle smile. She was dressed in a long, dull colored dress with a red ribbon secured on her neckline. Unsure, Oz went over to her. "My, you're really good looking. Why don't you take a look and buy a flower for your girlfriend?" She called out and Oz's face turned into the shade of her element – crimson. "He's not…" She started, but the girl simply interrupted her.

"Here, this one fits you perfectly. Does it?" it was a flower of a bright Amber color that resembles a rose. The girl literally pushed it to Mihile's hand and giggled. Baffled, he looked at her. "Don't worry! You don't have to pay for this! Just doing some good deeds here. Now sweep her off her feet!" The girl smiled and clapped her hands together, as if waiting for something to actually happen.

Mihile was confused, surprisingly confused that his face turned slightly red under the watch of that girl. She's really expecting something out of him. "I can't do that." He said and looked away from Oz. Oz's eyes sparkled in interest, as she took notice that he was being rather shy at the moment. The girl pouted. "Aw, you can! Come on, just one hug or something?" The girl clasped her hands together and pleaded.

Oz turned away and held back her laughter. She couldn't risk getting killed right here, right then by the Dawn Warrior himself. But just the image of Mihile being shy just makes all her laugh cells tingling. Mihile rubbed his temples and turned to Oz. "This has no meaning what-so-ever." He said clearly before pulling her in for a hug.

The girl squealed and clapped her hands together while he immediately pulled away and hide his face, seemed to be ashamed that he had really done that. Oz was stunned for a moment, until she chuckled and slowly, it turned into laughter. "I can't believe he just did that. The stoic Chief Knight of Light. Pfft." She covered her lips and laughed silently under his embarrassed glare.

"That's so cute! Thank you for sharing your part of the love story to me!" The girl smiled and turned around as she caught the sight of someone she's familiar with. "Ah! I'm here!" She waved, and a handsome lad with platinum, wild hair walked over to her. The man looked over with his mixed eyes, and somehow, it sends chills down Mihile's spine just by coming in contact with that particular crimson orb of his.

Smiling, Oz grabbed Mihile by his arm softly and pulled him away, waving at the girl as they depart to the general store. "I never knew you are actually capable of having an emotion." She said, smirking and chuckling at the same time. He looked down at her and gave her a dark gaze, and she had to laugh even more. "If you tell anyone about this… Particularly Hawkeye…!" He warned her, but she raised her right hand and vowed before he could finish his threats. "I shall not tell anyone about this." She said with one of her eyes closed.

Though he had a feeling that Oz was merely mocking him, he kept silent about it. He looked at the yellow flower and then back at her. She was already ahead of him, therefore, having her back facing him. She reached the entrance of the general store first and noticed the wild flowers grown near the vines on the wall. A genuine smile played on her face.

"Oz." He called. Surprised, Oz turned around. "Yes?" She asked and furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed him walking over to her. He reached out for her hair and brushed a few loose strands of her wavy, scarlet hair behind her ear. Her breath was held for a second and he stepped back. The flower stuck behind her ear and he nodded.

"That girl was right. The flower really suits you." He said and turned away.

At that moment, a figure passed by a mere brush of their shoulders. The significant look of annoyance and fury passed by her porcelain face as she pulled the hood closer down, in hopes to hide those ears of hers.

She ran, and a strand of her mixture of lime-blond hair danced with her as she speeds her way along the branches of the forest.

"Everything, has changed."

* * *

_Next Chapter:-_

_Chapter 11: "Pure White"_


	11. Pure White

**Chapter 11: "Pure White"**

Oz bought back some sweet fairy-honey buns while Mihile waited for her. Of course, she had also bought some for Aran and Evan. With a blissful expression on her face, she took a big bite of her bun. It was steaming hot, which cause the strange facial expression on her face.

Mihile chuckled secretly with his sapphire orbs snapped to the corner of his frame to look at her. She suddenly looked up and he hastily looked away. "Here." He turned to her and raised an eyebrow. She was holding a bun in front of his mouth and his eyes widened. "Say ah! Come on!" She smiled. Though he didn't literally said "ah", he did part his lips and allow her to stuff the bun into his mouth. "Too sweet." He commented, earning a chuckle from the latter.

As they slowly climb up the branches of Ellinia forest, she looked up and said. "You know… It's a lot nicer to talk to you when you're… well, not so grumpy." Mihile raised an eyebrow. He had his hand reached out for her from the top branch as he waits for her to climb up from the ladder. "Just climb." He growled.

And again, she wanted to slap him right on his pretty face. Angrily, she slapped his hand away and pulled herself up to the branch. Her expression softens though, when she sees the look on his face. Unlike his usual stoic look with a hint of arrogance, though he denies it, his expression was soft and… was the corner of his lips lifted even the slightest bit? A little smile appeared on her lips as she turned to see Evan waving at them.

She waved back with a smile and Evan ran over to them, his dragon and a grumpy Aran followed along. "Is that for me?" Evan asked, and Oz handed the buns over to him. When she noticed the look on Aran's face, she raised an eyebrow. "What's with her?" She asked, and Evan looked over at Aran. "Oh, nothing much." He said with an innocent smile over his face. "She's having a bad day." He let out a nervous laugh and eyed Aran worriedly.

"A bad day? What happened?" Oz turned to Aran in question. The Snow Warrior looked away and shrugged casually, as if telling Oz to shut up and don't mention it any longer. Sighing, Oz turned to Mihile. "Should we go now?" She asked, and he nodded in agreement.

"Let's go." He said, and they left the place in haste.

* * *

_"The darkness will eventually…"_ A deep, horrifying voice rang in his mind. The platinum lad rubbed his temples as he looked at the mess he had caused. Great, now she would definitely come and kill him for dirtying the clothes that she had spent the whole afternoon cleaning. He rubbed the back of his neck and quickly collected the clothes to hang them over the corner for it to dry.

"Luminous?" The lad turned around and smiled at the little blond girl who smiled back at him. "I've prepared lunch." She walked over to him and held his hand, nudging him to follow her back into the house. He smiled. Peace, was all he felt ever since the day this girl had found him. He couldn't remember anything about how he ended up in the middle of the Ellinia forest, but he was glad that she had found him.

"Lania?" He called her name, in which she responded with an eyebrow raised. "Yes?" She smiled at him as she placed his soup down. He shook his head. "Nothing." He said, as she took her seat right at the opposite of his.

"I'm just glad that this world is in peace." He thought as he began to dig in. Lania took a short glance at him and smiled inwardly, before she did the same. "Say, Luminous." She called for his attention after they had their meal. "The couple early this morning…" Luminous was close to choking the moment she mentioned the word "couple". Lania had always been fond of love stories and cheesy chick flicks, which was, much to Luminous' dismay.

"They're cute, aren't they?" Her eyes began to sparkle, and Luminous knew that it was his cue to stand up and leave. "Erm, Lania, have you taken your medication?" He asked her before she could start out her sentence. Thank goodness, he was once again, saved from the wrath of Lania. He thought. She turned to him and pouted. "I hadn't, but I will after-" He got up from his seat and shook his head. "You have to take your medications after every meal, Lania." He nagged.

"But Luminous… We're running out of my meds… And I don't want to waste your hard earn money on my medications…" Luminous sighed and flicked her forehead lightly. "Silly Lania, the money I earned is for you to spend. I'll rather have you healthy than spending the money on something useless." Before Lania can protest, he turned around and patted her head. "I'll be right back. I'll just head down town to buy your meds." He turned away and left the house. Lania pouted and caught up with him. "Take care!" She waved at him, and he waved back.

Walking down the Chimney Tree, he ran his fingers through his platinum hair as he noticed two family figures struggling to climb up the tree. "As predicted, you can't climb at all." The blond haired male sighed and reached his hand out for the crimson-haired girl. "Hurry up." He urged, and the girl pouted at him. "I **am** hurrying up. Or at least, I'm trying to…" She mumbled softly and grabbed his hand.

Luminous raised an eyebrow, but came to notice that the two weren't alone, there were two more people standing right beside the blond-haired guy. His eyes furrowed. That girl with long, white hair… She looked awfully familiar. He shook his head and turned away. "I've got to get Lania her meds before she faints again." He mumbled to himself and jumped down the branches as if it was one of the normal things people do.

Taking notice of the presence of another person, her chrysocolla orbs snapped towards the direction where the platinum lad had run off. She furrowed her eyes and immediately tightened her grip on her pole arm. "Maha." She called urgently, and the spirit appeared right by her side. She looked over at that man who was close to reaching the town area, "That guy, had you seen him anywhere before?" She asked, which made Maha take a second look at the male with unique platinum hair.

"Platinum hair…" Maha mumbled as he tapped his chin. A blurred image was slowly revealing in his mind, but that was until he heard a scream coming from the side. "Oz! Oh my god! Are you okay?" Evan's panic voice came after. Aran raised an eyebrow. "Well?" She asked. Maha's eyes twitched dangerously, as Aran could feel the anger he has been suppressing through her pole arm. His anger is overflowing.

Aran sighed and walked over to Oz. "Move." She growled and pulled Oz up without caring if it'll scratch her knee from being pulled forcefully. She turned to Mihile then. "Some knight you are." She mumbled and walked back to her original spot. The spirit continued to brainstorm, trying to identify the platinum lad by an image of his mere back view. "Platinum… White… White… Pure…" He sighed and shook his head.

"I've got nothing for the moment. I'll keep searching through my memories, just keep walking with the others first." He told her and disappeared. Aran looked up. "Just keep walking…" Her eyes furrowed in the most comical way ever. "How long more…?"

Oz glared at her. "Aran! You don't have to drag me up like that you know! I am perfectly capable of climbing on my own… Oh my god!" Her feet slipped and she fell back, falling down the height of the tree. She screamed her lungs out and squeezed her eyes shut. This is going to hurt a lot. She is going to die! She bit her lips and trembled in fear just as a person had successfully caught her and broke her fall.

She looked up, surprised as she stared at the young man with platinum hair and eyes of different colors, red and blue. Other than the fact that his crimson eye looked intimidating, he looked exactly like a saint fallen from heaven. The boy immediately put her down when he heard footsteps shuffling forward and began to run. "H-hey!" She called, but was surprised when a group of men ran passed her and began to chase the young man.

* * *

They were after him again. Luminous stopped running when he was sure that he had lost them. He looked at his surroundings and wiped the sweat that formed on his face from the run. The Ellinia forest is a huge tree and has numerous complicated hidden tunnels and identical roads, which makes it easy to escape the wraths of those people from Kerning City who aren't familiar with this place at all.

"Over there!" A familiar voice shouted. He started to run again. If he was caught, they would definitely torture him, or worse, they would find out about Lania and take her away from him. Luminous jumped over the thick root and hid behind the thick, green veins. "Get him, but I want him alive!" He heard a man say, the voice close by.

He hid just about the tree trunk and sprinted past that group of men and ran into a little problem. A scream was heard from above and when he looked up, a woman with crimson hair fell right into his arms within a blink of an eye. He raised an eyebrow, surprised that the woman was still trembling in his arms as if it was the most casual thing you could do in the middle of the forest. She looked up, looking surprised when she saw him. She probably thought that he looked scary, he thought.

"Got to go." He thought and ran when he heard footsteps coming from behind. As fast as he could, he grabbed the rope and climbed up the branch, following on with another ladder. A few more ropes, and he'll reach home, just a few more ropes. There, he could hide and they wouldn't be able to find him. There, he could finally give Lania her medicine and ease her pain. All of a sudden, something wrapped around Luminous' legs, causing him to fall flat on his face, and he couldn't get up.

"Well, well… Did you really think you could escape from me forever?" The man held Luminous' head and smashed his face into the ground. "Where's my money?" He asked. "I don't have it…" Luminous quietly replied. He could easily free himself, but then his ability could destroy the whole city.

"Is that so?" He let out a sigh and took out his blade; "You know what happens when I don't get my money, right?" Luminous gritted his teeth and his eyes glared at the man. He clenched his fist tightly as a faint light glowed beside him, so close… He thought. He was so close to attacking him when something hit the man on his head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." A soft voice stated, causing Luminous to look up in surprise.

A delicate looking man was standing there, his face gentle. Next to him were that same crimson lady, a moody looking male and a stoic, dark-skinned woman, who was leaning against the trunk. For some reason, the dark-skinned woman and the delicate looking man looked strangely familiar to him, though he was positive that he had never seen them before.

"And who are you brats?" The man asked as his companions behind him crossed their arms. "I'm pretty sure the Elders would do something about it when they heard that a fellow knight was attacked." Oz held up her medal, which only belonged to the Chief Knights of Ereve.

Luminous' eyes widened. The man holding the blade growled, but stepped back. "Fine." He then looked down at Luminous and hissed through his teeth, "This is not over." before disappearing with his men.

"Are you okay?" Oz asked, helping Luminous up. "I'm Oz." She said, raising a hand. "I believe we met when your friend there gave me a flower." Luminous raised an eyebrow, as he cautiously studied her. These were the two that Lania intended to talk about moments ago. Eventually, he shook her hand.

"I'm Luminous."

* * *

Luminous was handsome, really good looking with those messy hair and piercing stare of his. Oz's gaze secretly shifted over to Mihile. He too, had the same type of piercing stare. "What the hell am I thinking about?" She scolded herself and tried to mask her embarrassment.

They were at the small restaurant they had breakfast in. There was an awkward atmosphere as they looked at each other. "My name is Evan." He smiled at Luminous, trying to ease up the tension. Luminous gave him a weird look, making his odd eyes look funny, as the crimson orb didn't seem to suit such expression.

Oz tried to hold back her laughter, but it came out as a half chuckle. Mihile sighed when Aran did not intend to introduce herself and decided that he shall introduce her in her place. "My name is Mihile." He first introduced himself. "And she is Aran." Aran looked at Luminous and gave a nod in acknowledgement.

"Do I know you guys?" Luminous asked uncertainly as he glanced at the snow warrior and the Dragon tamer. "Possibly." Aran replied as she continued to observe and study the platinum lad. Somewhere deep inside her, the feelings were telling her that she knew this man, but they weren't close. "Possibly…" She thought and looked at her Pole Arm. The spirit is probably asleep within the pole arm, and she wasn't going to let this chance slide. She wanted some peace and quiet for now, so she decided not to confirm that certain thing that had been bugging her since she first saw him this morning.

"Possibly?" The Platinum lad repeated, unsure. Aran snapped her chrysocolla orbs at him with a sharp glare. "Do you not understand simple English?" She rolled her eyes when Luminous furrowed his eyes with a sharp glare that matches with hers. "No sane person would take "Possibly" for an answer." He said and crossed his arms.

Aran turned to the platinum lad. Oh, the nerve of this bastard. "What do you expect me to answer? I believe we do but I'm not sure about it. Oh, wait; let me ask my magical Pole Arm that speaks! Do you expect me to answer that?" She glared at him as she slammed her hands on the table, surprising the whole group, which had never seen Aran so worked up before.

"You could have answered with a simple "I don't know" and no one would think that you're some anti-social freak, you brat!" Oz looked at Luminous in awe. Oh, the nerve of that man to be so brave to stand up on Aran.

"Who are you calling brat? You brat! You could be 100 years younger than me for all I know!" Mihile could feel his insides twitching in pain. This is going to be a hectic long day.

"100 years younger? What are you? Medusa? 'Cause I think even Medusa can pull off a better look than an ugly brat like you!" Evan was close to snapping, he was so close to snapping. And Mir wasn't doing any help at all. "Master, they're going to fight! This seems so exciting."

"Ugly?! As expected from someone who has weird eyes, your eyes must have been drowned in volcano lava for so long your eyesight dropped dramatically." A nerve ticked, and Evan slammed his hands onto the tabletop.

"Enough!" He shouted at the two and glared at Oz when she wanted to tell him to sit down. "You!" He pointed his index finger at Aran. "Quit your sarcasm! It's not even funny! It's bloody insulting!" He then turned to Luminous. "And you!" He pointed his index finger at him. "Quit talking back to her as if it's a task you must complete! This is not a freaking game!"

Oz's eyes widened in surprise, and Mihile looked away. Aran's eyes twitched as she watched the brunette pant from all the shouting, and she was close to grabbing Maha and whack him on the brunette's pretty little face. Luminous then looked the time and jumped up immediately.

"Sorry, but I got to go." He mumbled and started to run. Oz stood up and shouted his name, about to catch up with him when Mihile held her hand. "Sit. Let him leave." Aran growled, and Oz warily sat down.

She crossed her arms. "Is he really…?" Aran turned to her with a simple shrug of her shoulders.

"God knows."

* * *

_Next Chapter:-_

_Chapter 12: "Lone Queen" _


	12. Lone Queen

**Chapter 12: "Lone Queen"**

The next day, they decided to resume their search in finding the ruined town, Elluel in hopes to search for the next Legend member. As though, it doesn't seem as if they were anywhere close to finding it, judging from the complicated hidden tunnels and difficult obstacles – trees, trees, and more trees.

Oz sighed and looked down from the spot she was standing at. She sighed. "We're close right? Please tell me we're close by already." She asked. Evan chuckled and patted her head, as the little Mir snuggled close to him. "Just a little more, Oz." He smiled and wiped the bits of sweat off his cheeks. Aran smirked, as she looked down at the girl in question.

Oz looked up and glared. "No thanks to you!" She forced herself to climb and growled at her, earning a petty smirk from the warrior in question. Mihile was the last to climb up that rope, as he was the last to arrive and that he didn't want the same event from happening again, referring to how Oz fell from the branch. He sighed and climbed the rope effortlessly.

"I found out where he lives." He told the rest, and Oz raised an eyebrow. She chuckled. "You stalker." Mihile turned and raised an eyebrow at the girl. Oz stuck her tongue out and smiled, as she wiped the bits of sweat of her forehead. "Whatever. Apparently, he's now in Naora hospital, in Kerning City." Oz's smile faded.

In the hospital? Why was he in the hospital? She frowned. "Did he get into a fight like before?" She asked. Mihile shook his head as they walked pass the bridge to the other tree. "No. He was there to visit someone." He replied, his face turned slightly darker, seemed to be recalling a few things.

"Well, where is he now?" She asked him and he shrugged his shoulders. Oz pouted and gently punched his shoulder, in a rather playful matter. He smirked and caught her fist, as she wanted to throw another punch at him. Clumsiness came to her, as she slipped on the slippery algae that grown on the bridge, but there was Mihile to catch her from her fall. "Are you seriously that clumsy? Or are you simply doing that to catch my attention?" He raised an eyebrow at her, as her red flashed pass her cheeks upon the close distance they're in. "W-what are you implying! Y-you!"

"Now, do you understand why I warned you not to go with them before?" Maha's voice snapped them out of their thoughts. Oz turned to the snow warrior, her spirit and Evan, whose cheeks and ears were bright red. Evan merely nodded and turned to Maha. "Yes. I perfectly understood the whole situation now." He turned to Oz and smiled shyly.

Oz glared at the rest, before turning to Mihile. "Are we close yet?" She asked, exhausted. She looked up from her current position. For goodness sake, this tree is endless! She thought and pouted in respond. Mihile smirked and walked pass her, and a scowl passed her lips. "Close, if you would actually keep up with our pace." He said.

Aran turned to the two with an annoyed expression plastered on her face. "Please. Just. Carry her or something." She scowled and climbed up the ladder. Evan followed after, with a weak smile on his face. "Sorry, I'm kinda tired too…" He mumbled and whimpered when Aran glared at him, initiating "Don't you dare stop".

Mihile sighed and turned to Oz. "She's right." He thought and walked over to Oz, while she showed a confused expression. With an eyebrow raised, she suddenly squealed in surprise when she felt her body being lifted up in an instance. Her eyes were wide as saucers, and her whole body tensed in Mihile's arms as he sighed at her. "Then again, that position won't work." Aran said from above.

Mihile nodded in agreement, while Oz was still in the state of shock. He immediately threw her on his shoulder, rather roughly, which caused her to drop on his shoulder with a painful oof. She was about to curse the living daylights out of him, but stopped when he began to climb up the ladder one-handed. She frowned, suddenly feeling that she was truly useless in terms of physical strength. She sighed and gave up struggling.

"Put me down." She said. "Don't." Aran glared at her. Oz frowned and growled. "I'll just let him carry me by his back, okay?" She whined. Mihile sighed and let her down. Next, allowing her to wrap her arms around his neck as he carried her up to their current location – the hidden entrance to Elluel Forest.

"Finally!" Oz groaned and fell on the grass. Mihile shook his head and sighed. "How did you manage to become the chief knight again?" He teased her with a smirk on his face. She glared at him. "Flame mages doesn't require much physical strength." She stuck her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes. "And how did you even pass being a knight?" She punched his chest and turned away. "Shut up."

"Let's go." Evan smiled at them and said, before they walked into the forest that lies within a forest. Oz's eyes sparkled with interest as she witness the beautiful scenery that sparked before her eyes. Elluel forest… She didn't expect it to look like this at all. It doesn't even look like "the forest that disappeared" at all. The trees grown beautifully, and the colors were as beautiful as ever. It was completely different compared to the trees in Ellinia.

"We don't have much time. Let's do a quick search and leave before the night falls." Mihile said and they walked pass the forest grounds. When they reached the end of the forest, all there's left was but a waterfall that was decorated with a beautiful pillar.

"This is it?" Evan asked, confused. Even Mihile couldn't figure out why did they come to a dead end, because clearly, the forest was but a straight path. Oz frowned and turned to Mihile. "Well?" Aran sighed and turned to Maha. "Do you know anything?" She asked, and the spirit shrugged. "Don't ask me, I hadn't been to the elves town before, nor did you, Aran." He explained and crossed his arms. "You always told me how you'd never want to visit this place no matter how they begged you to. Well, the ruler of that place wasn't exactly in the 'they' category."

Oz clicked her tongue. "Now what do we do?" She crossed her arms and mumbled. "We came here for nothing…" Evan smiled and patted her head. "Not exactly." He said and turned to Mir, who nodded its head and dipped its head through the fountain. "There's a path inside." Mir said, and Oz's eyes widened. "How do you know-"

Maha rolled his eyes. "Dragon, duh. It has sharper sensory organs than humans do." He said sarcastically and flew pass the dragon, into the waterfall. The rest followed, getting drenched in the process. "This is madness." Oz commented as they reached the depths of the forest, the quiet village that was sealed in ice. Mihile's eyes scanned through the silent village. Chills ran down his spine as he sees how the villagers were sealed in ice. "So it was true, this is how the elves disappeared from the world." He mumbled softly, but Oz caught it.

"This is crazy. Is it possible for my flame to melt the ice?" She asked no one in particular. But a voice answered her. "That can't do. The ice won't be melted even with Ignis' holy flames." Under the cloak, that lady spoke with such grace that surprised the group. She jumped down from the treetop and raised her weapon at them. "Who are you? And what do you want?" She questioned.

"We're here to look for someone." Oz said, trying to ease the tension that was building up. "Like I'll believe that." The woman in cloaked furrowed her eyes as she began to attack. _"Piercing Storm!"_ An arrow of green light was emitted from the odd looking crossbow and pierced pass Oz with a fairly high speed, surprising the fire caster that she could only gawk in surprise.

"H-hey!" She called, but the woman wasn't planning to listen. She dashed towards them in full speed and tumbled forward. She tripped Evan over and kicked him right up in the air, before pointing her odd weapon at him. A smirk appeared on her face as she pulled the trigger. _"Parting shot."_ Orange arrows were shot towards Evan, whereby his eyes widened in surprise and turned stun, waiting for the bullets to penetrate his frail body. Nothing came, as Mir blocked the attacks with its wings while holding onto Evan protectively.

The woman in cloak gasped the moment she saw the dragon rescuing the brunette. Her eyes were wide as saucers, and her hands began to tremble. "H-hey!" Turning to her left, Oz stood there with her staff in her hand. "I won't forgive you for trying to hurt him!" She shouted and activated her _fire arrow_. "I swear I will-"

The woman in cloaked did not listen to anything the crimson-haired had to say, instead, her eyes were locked on a certain warrior's. "Aran…?" She called, earning a surprise gaze by the snow warrior. Aran was in defense mode after she witnesses how fast the enemy was. This woman, her speed was this quick that she had a hard time picking up with. Her movements were as swift as the wind, at the same time; her actions were graceful as the pink petals that fell from the huge tree in the middle of the village.

"Who are you?" Aran asked. She had her pole arm ready, as ready as she could have ever been. No matter how fast the enemy was, she was sure that this woman wasn't as strong. The woman in cloak groaned and pointed her weapon at her. "Who am I?" She repeated Aran's sentence. "You don't remember me? You forgot about me?!" The girl's eyes began twitching dangerously as she stomped her way pass the confused knights. "You! The nerve of you bloody barbaric human! You dared to forget about the Elven Queen, Mercedes? Oh the nerve of you… you… YOU!" She began to shoot arrows furiously at Aran as she tried her best to block all the attacks coming from the woman. Seriously, what's wrong with her?

"What the hell?!" She shouted at the woman, but all she did was growl and continued shooting. "You despicable little human! I always knew you were a pain in the gut when Freud introduced you to me. Oh how right was I when this happened!" She threw a kick at the warrior, rather painfully and pointed her index finger at her.

"You're despicable!"

Evan couldn't process what just happened for the past few minutes. He just avoided the arrow shower of death, and now, he's witnessing how a stranger who claimed to know Aran kicked Aran in the gut. The woman in cloak turned to him and glared. "What? Are you going to tell me that you forgot about me too?" She groaned and glared at him. "Don't you dare. Freud. If you dare to say those 3 same bloody words to me. I swear I will make sure you won't have any future generations running around that bloody research lab of yours."

He gulped and took steps back, closer to Mir. "L-look, miss… I…" A vein popped on the woman's porcelain face as she took a step forward. "Oh the nerve of-"

"I'm not the Freud you speak off!" he shielded himself with both his arms and squeezed his eyes shut. The woman suddenly turned silent and took a few steps back. A clear look of sadness ran across her face. "Right. How can I forget." She looked away, her expression was far paler than her normal skin tone. "Freud can't be here. There is no way for him to be here." She shook her head and looked back at Evan, her expression turned stoic. "Well then, what are you?" She secured her weapons on her belt and crossed her arms.

"E-eh?" E-Evan." He looked away and blushed, as the woman had finally decided to let down her cloak. Her long, blond hair were pushed out of the black cape and allowed to fall along her back. A far clearer look of annoyance was plastered on the woman's face when her face was shown under the gentle, warm sunlight. "Hm. And that dragon? That's definitely not Afrien, unless he shrunk in size." She gestured the dragon that mewed at her.

"This is Mir." He said before patting Mir's head, a smile plastered on his face. The woman looked at the scene, a flash of envy crossed her face, until she wiped that expression off her face. "I see." She turned to the snow warrior, who was left half-dead on the ground. "Someone care to explain to me if that thing over there is still Aran, or is she another look-alike?" She pointed at Aran and asked the crowd.

"Aran? Hey Aran! Wake up!" Maha twirled around the warrior's collapsed body and pleaded. But the woman could care less. She turned to the fire caster and raised an eyebrow at her. "Well?" She asked, clearly in need of an explanation. Oz gulped and turned to Mihile for help, but all Mihile did was avoiding her gaze and looked away.

Oz sighed. "Well… It's…" She explained to the girl exactly what happened to Aran, and what is going on in the Maple World. Because judging from the look on the woman's face, she is clearly one of these people who had been caught by the curse, and had been asleep for 100 years.

"Hm. I see. So to simplify everything, the black mage's underlings are trying to break the seal and revive the black mage, the two of you are the Empress's knights and are currently in a mission to find the Legends; that thing over there was found conscious after 100 years, but lost her memories and powers, the boy is the next Freud, Mir isn't Afrien at all, and you're currently looking for the rest…" She mumbled softly as she crossed her arms, seemed to be in deep thoughts. "Now, you're here to search for the Legend that lived here, in Elluel."

She looked up next and sighed. "This." She stood up and rubbed her temples. "Is ridiculous." She said, immediately surprised the poor fire caster. "B-but it wasn't a lie-"

"I know." The woman looked at Oz and said. "Because the Legend that you're seeking for in this place… it's me." She said, pointing at herself. She wasn't being arrogant; she wasn't even trying to brag that she was one of the Legends. She was just being overly honest that drove a vein to pop on Oz's neck. Despite that, Oz didn't burst at her, she simply couldn't. The Elven Queen's charisma is so overly powerful that she felt threatened for her life. Heck, even Aran was beaten half dead already, how is it possible for her to win against this ruler?

The Elven Queen sighed and began to introduce herself. "I'm Mercedes the Elven Queen, Ruler of Elves. I'm also one of the Legends. A member who isn't having a bloody amnesia." She eyed Aran a sharp glare as she said the last sentence. Aran looked away in return.

"And I'm fairly clear with who and how the last two Legend members look like." That was all it took for Mercedes to feel welcomed by Oz. "I'm Oz. Chief Knight of Flame of Empress Cygnus's." Oz said with a smile, reaching her hand out for the Elven Queen. Mihile merely looked at her, or rather, eyed her with suspicious. **Dead suspicious. **

"Hey. Introduce yourself!" Oz whispered. Mihile pulled Oz back and eyed the elven queen a glare. "How do we know if you weren't a fake?" He asked. "You couldn't possibly expect us to believe that you're one of the Legends just because you claimed to be one."

"You're right. I can't prove my existence with just this." She said and walked up to him, that smug look plastered firmly on her face.

"But feel free to ask Athena Pierce, then come back here. Though I doubt you can leave your comrades who are lacking in physical strength here alone."

Mihile groaned and looked away. And a smirk appeared on the ruler's face. Damn to the Queen and her sharp tongue. She turned to Oz who chuckled and crossed her arms. "That doesn't mean I'll follow you." She said, and the fire caster immediately snapped her head over.

"What? Why?" She frowned. This couldn't be. Why did she reject the offer? Mercedes sighed and looked at the town, where her fellow subjects and people were locked in ice pillars. She couldn't possibly leave them alone. What if one of them broke the curse while she was away? They would feel lost. And with the seal broken, people could enter anytime. Therefore, she mustn't leave. She had her responsibilities as a Queen to fulfill. "If it were him… He would have done something already…" She thought with a heavy heart.

Mihile, who noticed the look on the Queen's face, nodded his head in understanding. "I understand. We'll take our leave then, your highness." He said and turned away. Oz raised an eyebrow on his questionably, but all he did was shake his head and walked away. The rest followed him, with Oz constantly questioning him for his actions.

Mercedes looked at the lonely village, as silence took over. Her aquamarine orbs frowned upon the sight of little children who were locked in ice pillars in the middle of the forest. Too cruel, the Black Mage is. She clenched her fists and looked at the weapon in her possession.

"Fear me, Black Mage." She held her dual bowguns tightly and shot up above the sky. She is determined, determined to get back what she owns; her strength, her people... and to avenge _**him**_...

"I'll keep this world save, if that is the last thing I must do."

* * *

_Next Chapter:-_

_Chapter 13: "Mirror Image"_


	13. Mirror Image

**Chapter 13: "Mirror Image"**

"Thank you for coming with us, your highness." Oz smiled. They are currently in Kerning City, a rotten city famous for crimes. Judging from the appearance of the city, it can be concluded that the rumors weren't just rumors, but true facts. The city is filled with punks sitting leisurely by the streets; there were some time where they would spot some adventurers who became an apprentice under the lead of the Dark Lord. "I'll get this straight, I'm not coming with you. We're simply together because coincidentally, I have business in Kerning City." The Elf Queen spoke coldly and walked faster.

"There is no way I'm spending the night in this rotten place." Was all that came out of the elf queen's thin lips as they walked pass an odd kid with a blue and white cap, who is staring above the sky. The Queen was having issues, and everything is revolving around the word "filthy". Evan let out a nervous laugh and caught up with them, with Aran grumpily tagged along. After that humiliation she had received from Mercedes, she had refused to walk by her side, but was forced to by the fire caster. Oz smiled and looked over at the blonde knight. He seemed to be in deep thoughts. She sighed. "Hey." She called for his attention. "What are you thinking?" She asked, raising her eyebrow in question.

He turned to her shortly, before shaking his head. "Nothing." He spoke shortly. "Wait here." He told the others and went ahead.

Mercedes furrowed her eyes shortly. "My pace. Seriously." She crossed her arms and looked around town. Seriously, her aquamarine orbs couldn't stand this town, not one slightest bit. There isn't even a single dot of nature in this town, not even **one, goddamn tree**. She growled and crossed her arms. "I hate this place." She mumbled.

"Shut up. You've been saying that for the 7th time already." Aran glared at the elf queen, clearly still holding grudges against her. Mercedes glared back at the snow warrior. "This is a free world, I get to say whatever I want to." She smirked at her successful attempt in shutting the snow warrior up. Evan rubbed the back of his neck. "Seriously, guys. We should just keep it low…" When the two Legends glared at his still-growing dragon behind his back, which is apparently, already of his size, he immediately raised his hands and shut up.

When Mihile came back, Oz waved at him happily. "You're slow." She commented with a pout, but the dawn warrior shrugged it off. Then, she noticed the man behind him, and she gave him a questioning gaze. He shook his head, a huge attempt to shake off his smile that was threatening to play on his lips.

"This is Dr. Greg." He said and she bowed her head, while the others nodded. "He 's a doctor at the Naora Hospital." Surprised, Oz looked at Mihile, but then nodded. "We should take a seat somewhere, so that we can… talk."

* * *

They took the subway down to Kerning Square; a mall located a little further away from the city, and settled down in one of the cafes there. The café was a nice little one, with signature glass windows by the entrance. The air was filled with the sweet aroma of coffees, tea and strawberries. "What business do you have in Kerning City again?" Aran growled, and Mercedes shrugged casually. Oz ordered one of their signature cherry bubble tea and a piece of strawberry cake, topped with chocolate. "You eat quite a lot, don't you?" Mihile remarked and she nodded.

"I love food, so what." She stuck her tongue out and smiled, surprising the young blond lad. Most women would choose to keep their figures in tact that they would refuse taking more food than needed, sometimes lesser than needed. To be honest, he hated that kind of attitude. It was clearly unhealthy to not eat. Amused, he watched how Oz stuffed the cake down her throat.

Mercedes cleared her throat and diverted her attention to the man. "So, you're Dr. Greg. I see." She asked the doctor. Clearly, she was trying to avoid that uncomfortable atmosphere caused by the two knights, unknowingly. The area was flowing with so much pink that it's beginning to hurt her eyes. The elderly man sighed and clasped his hands together, "As I've heard, you've met Luminous." He began and Oz nodded in surprise. "His important friend is currently in the hospital, and she's in a critical state."

That was bad news. Oz frowned, feeling bad for him, while Mercedes' ears immediately perked up from the name mentioned. "Luminous?" She frowned as her mind repeated the name. "Important friend… huh…" A soft smirk appeared on her face. "He can't afford anymore medical fees. He'll want to call for a real healer for her if he could, but he really couldn't afford it." Oz's face darkened from what the doctor had said.

"How dare he…" She furrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "And what are you going to do about his friend?" Aran asked, thought no one seemed to have noticed, she had one of her hand holding onto her pole arm that was strapped to her back. The doctor couldn't meet her eyes, nor can he meet anyone's eyes. "We're going to release her soon… We can't do anything more for her." Anger shot up in Oz, and she nearly jumped up at him. Immediately sensing her anger, Mihile grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight.

"So you're going to give up on that person like that because he has no money to pay for the hospital fees?" Evan asked, though his voice sounded smooth and calm, deep down, he was boiling with anger. The doctor shrugged his shoulder and Aran gave him a dark look. "If we could, we would… but we can't." He said. Oz immediately felt disgusted by the man who called himself a doctor before her very eyes. She stood up and eyed him a glare, horrifying enough that his white coat was caught on fire. "If you had really wanted to do it, you would have done it already." She snorted and turned around. "I pity you, really." She whispered and left.

"Oz! Wait!" Evan called as the rest walked after her. "What?" She turned around and growled. She was heading down the subway, ready to head for the hospital. "Just wait for us. Silly." Aran said and sighed as they sat down in the subway. Thankfully, there weren't that many people in the subway. Though there were only a little people here, there are still people who would constantly steal glances at them as they speak.

"You're planning to go to the hospital next aren't you?" Aran spoke softly as she sighed at the crimson-haired girl. "You're silly. Really." Oz glared at the snow warrior and growled. Mercedes shook her head and sat down beside Evan, which the brunette flinched in return. "What can you achieve by bursting into the hospital anyway?" She asked, and it got Oz right in the gut. Despite saying that, she was furious. That man was clearly a human of greed. She knew it just by judging from his appearance. "Humans." She snorted and crossed her arms.

"I don't know… Just… argh!" Oz growled and leaned back with a sigh passed her lips. Mihile shook his head and his hand slid to the back of her neck and pushed her forward. "Calm down, I have an idea." Oz blinked her eyes twice. "Really?" Mercedes raised an eyebrow; Aran opened one of her eyes with a smirk on her face, and Evan chuckled. Oz is so simple-minded, sometimes, or most of the times.

"You really have a plan?" Mihile nodded and looked around. "Okay, listen…"

* * *

The platinum lad sat next to the pale blond girl. Her lips were as pale as ever, her cheeks had lost its usual flush, and her fingertips were cold as ice. "Lania…" He whispered and pushed her hair back. Her small and fragile face was just so pale that caused his heart to ache. She was just 16 years old. Why is she suffering here instead of jumping around happily? "Luminous…?" She whispered and turned her head.

She wasn't supposed to be lying on the hospital bed; at least, he thought it couldn't be this soon just yet. That day, when he arrived home a little later than usual after the confusing conversation with the red-haired lady and her friends, all he saw was the weak Lania lying on the ground clutching her heart painfully. Sweat ran down her beautiful face as she painfully welcomed him back, barely breathing. He recalled panicking, as their pet, Penny shouted for Luminous to rush her to the hospital, as quick as possible. He always knew she had a weak heart and that she had been taking pain relievers, but he didn't expect an attack!

Tears glistened in his eyes, though invisible to the blonde girl. He gently placed his lips on her forehead. "I have to go now." He said and she nodded, a little saddened for his departure. "Okay… But next time, promise you'll bring me those sweet buns I like?" She whispered softly, and he nodded.

He would. Of course he would get her just about anything she wish for. He is willing to do anything for her, just for her. He covered her with the thick white blanket and left the room. The hospital itself was rather small, with limited rooms and barely enough beds to tend all the wounded people. Despite so, there are really good doctors and healers who work here. He frowned. If he could, he would have hired the healers to heal Lania, but he couldn't. They were just too ridiculously expensive.

"Those bloody healers. They're too unreasonable." He walked down the stairs and left the hospital. It was a clear night that day. The stars sparkled in the sky and the moon was clearly visible, though he began to wonder why was it partially red from his crimson eye. He rubbed his eyes and opened them again, and the ruby vision was gone. "Is it because of the stress?" He shook his head and sighed. What should he do now?

"Let's see… Who do we have here?" Luminous turned around and paled. "Shit." He mumbled and took a step back. "Not them again…"

He started to run, and they ran after him. "I will get my money back!" Their leader shouted and Luminous cursed himself for borrowing money from this man. A bright, highly speeded light past his head and a quick bullet sound could be heard next. Those people had guns. He jumped past the barrels and kicked them over, causing the men to either stop or try to avoid the rolling barrels.

He continued to run, jumping over benches and carts that were all over the place. He entered the market area in Kerning City, which could be counted as the black market, as people were never there for_ normal_ goods. He ran through the crowd and tried to mingle within, bumping into people in the process. "Hey! Watch out!" Someone called as he accidentally bumped into him. "Sorry…" he mumbled softly and tried to hide himself as much as possible after grabbing a black cloth from a random place.

"Got you!" A hand lay on his shoulder and Luminous spun around. He threw a kick down to that man's abdomen and people started to scream. Within the territory of Thieves and Rogues, there are still feminine and gentle people after all. He took advantage of the ruckus and disappeared into the crowd again, making use of the black cloth as his hood just to hide his distinct platinum hair.

This time, he was heading close towards the red light district. "You will not get away this time!" Someone cut off his way and he cursed. "Damn it." He was surrounded. Someone jumped at him, but he ducked down and took the chance to kick that man's back. A man took out small silver blades and began throwing them at him. Luminous jumped up, dodging all the blades as much as he could. He missed one blade, and the blade left a shallow cut on his arm.

A painful expression passed his face, but he managed to dodge the punch that was charged with that man's mana. Slings shot up from the ground, pulling him down to his knees and tied him there.

"You filthy little sucker. I got a shit load of trouble because of you." The man said and grabbed Luminous' chin, rather harshly. He spat right at the man's face, disdainful. That action caused the man to slap the platinum lad and wipe his face.

"Asshole." Luminous growled, as he tasted his own blood. Apparently, he had been biting his lips when the man landed his hand on his cheek. "I wouldn't be so full of myself if I were you. I want my money back, right here, right now. Or else… I'll make sure that precious little girl of yours die." The man smirked at Luminous' pale figure. "You wouldn't dare…" He whispered softly, but the man could care less. "You think so? We'll see about that, shall we? Now where's the money?" He asked, and the platinum lad looked down.

Crap. He didn't have even one single mesos, how is he supposed to pay back when he doesn't even have any money now? "Lania…" He frowned and clenched his fist tightly, despite under the ropes of the man's. "There has to be another way out." He growled and glared at that man. Fury, anger… It was clearly shown in his eyes.

"Again…" His vision was starting to turn colors. He was seeing red, slowly, fading in like water ripples. His eyes widened and he tried to squeeze his eyes shut, then opening them again, but the redness wouldn't go away. "Relax." A voice whispered softly from behind, and chills ran down his spine. It was as if time had stopped for the rest of the world. Everything began to sink in darkness as he came face-to-face with a man of the same face as he has, except for his crimson orb was glowing as bright as flames. His hair was of a different color too. It was the color of darkness, black.

"Just relax, sink in the darkness…" The voice whispered, and the man before him slowly took his steps forward. Shallow ripples were form by that man's footsteps as he walked. A cocky smirk appeared on the mirrored face as he offered his hand to Luminous. "Take my hand. Leave everything to me. I'll assure you that everything will be fine the next time you wake up." _Deeply_. He realized that he was beginning to sink in to the dark pool. He slowly closed his eyes, as if agreeing to his mirror image and began to relax himself. But that was until he heard a familiar voice from the outside.

"Next time, I won't be so generous anymore." A female voice spoke, and his eyes immediately snapped open. He turned around, just to see those familiar figures standing before him.

* * *

Mercedes was running up the streets. It was clearly obvious that she knew whom that "Luminous" the group was talking about when she caught sight of him and chased after him when they called out of that platinum lad, who apparently, was too occupied with the people to greet them. "Mihile better hurry up…" Oz mumbled while running along, trying to catch up with the elf queen's speed.

Evan smiled. "I'm sure he will be back soon. Don't worry." He assured her as they continued their chase. Mir was flying right above the sky to avoid unnecessary attention, and Aran was behind Mercedes, though not as fast, but still faster than the two wizards trying hard to tail behind them.

Seeing as the platinum lad was pinned to the ground, tied up, Mercedes furrowed her eyes sharply and prepared her weapons. "Evan, now!" She hissed and Evan nodded, mentally drained by the Queen's demands. He lifted his wand, and Mir flew down with a flow of lightning stroke in front of the man, right before it hits Luminous. Oz glared at the man and stood right beside Luminous, and fire started to surround the man.

"Next time, I won't be so generous anymore." She said with a smirk. Familiar faces and none familiar faces caught the men off guard. "You again." He hissed, and Aran glanced at the others. There were eight of them in total. Her eyes furrowed as she took notice of the man who had his hand behind his back. "This is not good." She thought and eyed the two wizards in worry. Wizards aren't all that good in dodging attacks after all.

"Get them!" The man called. Mercedes tumbled back and kicked one of the men in his chin. In a swift movement, she spun around and elbowed the man who came behind her back without notice. Her weapons weren't of use, because she couldn't kill them anyway. Aran spun her huge pole arm before her, allowing it to act as a shield from the man who constantly threw blades at them. Evan took a step back and constantly casted lightning bolts to strike the men who attempt to step any closer.

Oz created a wall of flame, acting as a shield from the man behind their head's back. Apparently, they have a wizard within their group too, and to make things worse, he is an Ice Mage. Oz panted, all due to the tiredness of working her flames against ice. Mercedes ran and jumped up high, pass the wall of flame and landed both her feet right at the ice magician's back. "You okay?" Evan asked Oz and she nodded. Currently, there were five left, and one of them was the head.

A long, sharp rope flew past her and she gasped. She looked around. Clearly, one of them was controlling that string… but who was it? Evan casted a lightning strike yet again, and sweat began to run down his face. "I'm running out of mana." He thought and reached to grab the potion in his back, but a hand reached for his shoulder and pushed him back. "Don't overwork yourself." The elf queen said and furrowed her eyes at the men. "Warming up's done. Brats."

Mir came up to his master and wrapped its wings around him, clearly a sign of protection. "Don't worry…" he huffed and smiled at the elf queen who stole a short glance at him before returning her attention back to the men. Sneakily, something lay around Oz's throat and started to strangle her. The wall of flame died down, and she began to gasp for air. "Oz!" Evan called out. Aran glanced back with a painful hissed when she allowed a blade to scratch her cheek. Mercedes growled and glared at the man. She found out the string-wielder.

"Lu… mi… nous…" Oz whispered desperately as she looked at the platinum lad lying on the ground. Luminous growled. He wanted to help, but that would mean throwing away Lania's life. The man chuckled. "Kill them." He said and the man nodded. The sling around Oz's neck choked her even more, and she was on the verge of passing out, if the man hadn't pass out. Oz fell back, gasping for air with Mercedes reached to hold onto her.

Her throat felt sore, the skin was burning. Another man fell to the ground, unconscious. That would be the work of Aran's, as she wiped the blood off her cheek and went to Oz. Passing a knowing nod to Aran, Mercedes stood up and loaded her weapon, a glow appeared on the surface as she aimed her gun at the men. Three left. Oz spotted Mihile and she smiled faintly. Currently, he had his sword on another man's neck. With the back of his sword, he threw the man off unconscious. Mercedes simply shot her limitless arrows at the man's feet and made him dance like a mad man, bringing laughs to Oz who was still hurting. When she had gotten bored, she threw a fast and harsh kick at the man's gut and knocked him off with an instant. "Too slow." She was referring to her kick.

"Now, you're the only one left." Mihile said and a man stepped out of the shadows. Aran helped Oz up, though she had a scratch on her cheek, she seemed fine. Mihile shot a dark gaze and the man whimpered in fear. Luminous stood up slowly. Suddenly, Mihile threw the man a small bag. "Your money. That should be enough." He growled and the man nodded, pale as a ghost.

"Now leave, before I change my mind." Mihile eyed him a cold glare and the man turned on his heels and ran. Mercedes turned to look at Luminous; a soft sigh came past her thin lips. "You've caused us a lot of trouble, friend."

* * *

_Next Chapter:-_

_Chapter 14: "Pulling Strings"_


End file.
